Locker, UW about as good as you could ask for in spring game

The UW football team conducted its annual spring game on Saturday, putting the proverbial stamp on the first installment of the Sark era.

It was clear Sarkisian's objective for spring practice was to implement the new offense/defense, identify playmakers and begin to assemble a depth chart, and in general, set the standard for a new era of Husky Football.

And if the outcome of Saturday's game was any indication of what direction this team is headed, Husky fans surely have brighter days ahead.

OK, major caveat time. The spring game was scripted for success: The ones against the twos on both sides of the ball. And considering the twos were twos from an 0-12 team last season, Sarkisian may have considered inviting Jake Heaps' Skyline team to compete against the starters instead.

That UW coaches decided on this format in favor of the previous staff's mix-and-match ones/twos, or ones vs. ones (which yielded a retirement center bocce ball-like pace and 3-0 outcome in Tyrone Willingham's first spring game in 2005), suggests the new staff is more concerned with execution versus matching up the best possible competition.

And execution is what the coaches - as well as the fans - received.

Jake Locker went an impressive 16-18 with two touchdowns as the offense scored on its first four possessions, the offensive line/running game was able to establish itself, and the defense pitched a shutout in a 33-0 rout.

Is the score significant? Somewhat; Had the starters faltered, there would be reason for major concern considering the competition. In year's past, it was essentially a no-win situation: If the first team offense scored on the first team defense, it was a good/bad scenario, and vice versa. But pairing the ones versus the twos ensured a one-sided outcome should have been the end result, something everyone could feel good about.

But the way in which the ones executed a brand-new offense with exact precision, on the ground and in the air with a combination of short and medium game, play action, check-downs to secondary option receivers and dump-offs to running backs, suggests this team is learning quickly on the fly.

Locker's efficiency was huge. If the Dawgs have any chance of respectability in 2009, he has got to be effective through the air, something coaches have stressed all spring. In years past, it was more about featuring Locker in the complicated spread option with marginal athletes at the skill positions and overweight lineman, which was rarely successful if not downright disasterous when Locker went down with a broken thumb four games into last season, leaving Ronnie Fouch to fend for himself in an offense that couldn't have been any less-designed for him.

Now, in Sarkisian's pro-style offense, Locker's speed on the edge can be featured via play action and misdirection, which is sure to give defenses fits this fall, no matter how good. It also takes pressure off the lineman and running backs to block, which is surely welcomed. Locker's no longer depended on to run-option in the pocket, either - He can decide to run purely based on what the defense gives him now and not necessarily by design.

Defensively, we knew coming in many of the starters from a unit with the tackling skills of a matador return, but it was good to see them hold up their end of the bargain. The linebacker corps in particular, with the addition of once-banished star E.J. Savannah, could be "one of the best units in the conference" according to Defensive Coordinator Nick Holt. Overall the defense appears to by faster, more tenacious, hungrier.

This team will win football games in 2009. It will beat a few teams because it is more talented, it will sneak up on a couple teams that should beat them, and it will play some good teams close. The key to UW's success this year will be its health. Beyond the starters, there seems to be quite a dropoff. But all indications point to Sark's kids buying into his system/philosophy, which is a step in the right direction.

IN OTHER NEWS...UW unveiled new uniforms, featuring new block-style numbering on jerseys, retro 80s-style pants with stripes, and the introduction of an all-white road uniform. I love the new tougher, back-to-basics look of the home unis, and the pro-style road whites are very clean.