The Guards versus the Prisoners
Richard Linde, 18 October 2006

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Coach Tyrone Willingham has done moderately well with Rick Neuheisel’s recruits, except for some of the local media which, during his tenure, treated Rick and his Huskies like a football team out of The Longest Yard. Was it the Prisoners or the Guards team? I’m picking the Guards; if so then former UW athletics director Barbara Hedges had to be the unlikable warden. 

Still sporting “Neuweasel” bumper stickers and duped by their own prejudice, most of the local media, at least before last Saturday, were simply amazed by the Dawgs’ turnaround this season (now 4-3, 2-2 in the Pac-10). Most of them, along with most of the football rags and the Pac-10 media brigade that met in Los Angeles, picked the Huskies to finish last in the conference race, and obviously, had not read our article, “Mal’s picks in the Pac,” that projected a fifth-place finish for the Dawgs and a win over UCLA at the front of the season. We were the laughingstock back then – and, ahem, still are, since we picked the Dawgs to beat the Trojans. Still, I’ve never heard of a 2-second drill. Bring back the old NCAA clock rules.

Before the season began, one of our skilled prognosticators (er, me) wrote, “(Isaiah) Stanback, a host of excellent receivers, and an improved defense will be Washington’s strength. A six-plus-win season rests mostly on a jury-rigged offensive line and my assumption there’s more talent at UW than people think.”

Most of Rick’s talented recruits, including his much maligned seven wide receivers in 2003, were highly regarded when they signed letters of intent to attend the UW. For example:

-- Isaiah Stanback was the “best quarterback” Rick had seen on tape during the 2002 recruiting season.

-- Rick fought then-UCLA-coach Bob Toledo for the services of OL Clay Walker, who lost his job at a steakhouse because he was besieged by two UCLA assistant coaches who arrived unannounced at his home in Scottsdale. Rick said he had to “hose him off” after UCLA had finished with him. (See our spoof, “A day at Castle Pacifica,”)

-- Rick managed to rescue Stanley Daniel’s from the clutches of Nebraska.

-- I’m still amazed he was able to recruit Sean Douglas, the conference’s leading punter, out of Bellevue, Nebraska. Former Husky kicker John Anderson reviewed Sean’s film with Neuheisel, and Chuck Heater, who was the recruiting coordinator, tripped to Bellevue and sealed the deal.

-- Though recruited by Rick for football, Nate Robinson was the catalyst that brought Husky basketball out of the depths of despair.

-- See our article, “Was Neuheisel an effective recruiter at UW?” for a list of players from this year’s roster who have NFL potential (see Table 2).

What’s wrong with most of the sports media?

In general, the media’s portrayal of a certain team, its players and head coach – or even a whole conference -- may not mesh with reality, a Playmakers kind of thing. In a nutshell, the fourth estate is the victim of over-generalization and sensationalism.

Almost too trite to say, many of the columnists in Seattle despise big-time college football, which is like a big business to them that needs more regulation and government interference. During Rick Neuheisel’s tenure at Washington, that pervading philosophy arguably motivated and influenced some of their articles. Commanding a large salary and carrying a briefcase of secondary NCAA violations, the gifted Neuheisel ghosted the image of a corrupt CEO to them.

During the NCAA and media witch hunt that eventually cost him his job, Neuheisel said, the media have "created an image of me that I can't recognize…I wouldn't wish what is going on in my life to happen to anybody. It hit like a tidal wave that you can't get out from underneath."

Neuheisel’s image was partially sanitized by the outcome of a successful lawsuit he filed against the NCAA and the University of Washington, the settlement of which awarded him $4.7 million.

The Huskies are fortunate that head coach Tyrone Willingham was available when they sought a new coach. Willingham has the wisdom and football smarts to get the job done at Washington. For one thing, he restricts the media to just the first 25-minutes of practice.

For another, his team, except for the misstep with OSU, is playing like the popular Prisoners team.