Is the patient on the mend?
Yep
By: Richard Linde, Posted 21 April 2003

Last season, Washington averaged 74.5 yards on the ground per game, the worst in its history. This spring, coach Rick Neuheisel is attempting to resuscitate the ground-game patient.

To wit: in the scrimmage before Friday's, Shelton Sampson rambled for 35-yards; in Friday’s scrimmage, Chris Singleton (photo left) bolted for 21 yards. Is Washington’s moribund ground game slowly being resuscitated?

Short of mouth-to-mouth, Dr. Neuheisel is giving the patient plenty of chances to resuscitate.

During Friday’s scrimmage, his team rushed the ball 47 times while passing it only 34 times, which is a reversal of last season’s rush/pass ratio.

Sampson and Singleton, the only healthy scholarship running backs in spring camp, combined for 112 yards on 23 carries (4.9 yards per carry). As a team, the dawgs rushed for 123 yards on 47 attempts (2.6 yards per rush). The rushing game averaged 2.8 yards per carry in the previous scrimmage and it averaged 2.8 yards per carry against Purdue in the Holliday Bowl last season.

Statistically speaking the ground game hasn’t changed much since last season, except now there are three running backs, if you include Kenny James (sprained knee), on track to unseat Rich Alexis as Washington’s starting tailback.  Last season, Alexis wasn't challenged much. What a difference a year makes: maturity, maturity, maturity.

Hailing from Etiwanda, California, Singleton had a write-to-mom-about day, rushing the ball 11 times for 67 yards. He caught 2 passes for 63 yards, one of them a 55-yarder off a screen pass from QB Cody Pickett.

When the regular season begins, undoubtedly the UW will return to its version of the West Coast Offense, which attempts to set up the run with the pass. That being true, then Chris Singleton’s 55 yard run after catch during the scrimmage is significant. Last season, the Dawgs failed to throw enough to their running backs, which hurt the ground game immeasurably.

Reggie Williams caught 4 passes for 55 yards and Charles Frederick hauled in 3 passes for 44 yards. Fullback Ty Ericks caught 1 pass for 4 yards, which is somewhat of a downer considering UWs need to throw more to its  running backs.

However, there was another bright spot during the scrimmage: Walk-ons Evan Knudson and Ricardo DoValle were a combined 4 for 4 on field goals, with Knudson making one from 49 yards and DoValle one from 47 yards.

Also, QB Isaiah Stanback ran the option well. The threat of his presence inside the red zone would give opposing coaches more to worry about, if the Pickett/Reggie Williams threat shouldn't be worrisome enough.

Notes:

Tailback Chris Singleton (sophomore) stands 6-foot-0 and weighs 195 pounds. He runs a 4.39 forty. At Etiwanda high school, he rushed for a career 4517 yards and 44 touchdowns. He was named to the Tacoma News-Tribune’s “Western 100” team and was an all-CIF selection as a senior.

Punter Derek McLaughlin will be on a Mormon mission next season. Incoming freshman Sean Douglas, punter, will report to summer camp in August. As of now, none of the beat writers--and I don't blame them--is asking coach Neuheisel a question that is in all of our minds: What about the punting game?