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The warm, pleasant day had the fans, the student-athletes, and the coach in good spirits. It was Picture Day 2006, the prelude to another season of Washington Husky football. The Gods of college football regaled the loyal fans that turned out with a blue, sunny sky -- and the tinge of purple reflected by our rose-colored glasses radiated throughout Husky Stadium.
See, I’m infamous. -- ILB Scott White said it was a misunderstanding and that his demotion to backup was not a question of talent, which he thought it had been. I guess he hadn’t been working hard enough to impress the coaches, although he had a “hammy” in the spring. He seemed upbeat about the whole affair. Stanley Daniels calls him “Scotty.” -- The guys on the OL are huge, the biggest I’ve ever seen at UW in person. If they get their act together, they should be a strong unit. Clay Walker told me he’s benching around 430 pounds and that Stanback (benches 365) is unusually strong for a quarterback. Walker was in good spirits as were the other offensive linemen. -- The Sean Douglas trick: Jake Locker and his “father/high-school coach?” arrived with a flourish about 45 minutes into the program, walking briskly across the field towards its north end, where all the players sat at a row of tables positioned along the track shadowed by the north upper deck. I mistook Locker for Sean Douglas, asking him, “Can I take your picture, Sean?” He told me that he had to get to his table, which was about 50 feet away. The guy with him told Locker, “Nice try,” as they walked away, suspecting I couldn’t hear them. Anyway, there was a long line of fans waiting for Montlake Jake who, perhaps, had gone to the other side of the field where they were taking formal pictures before returning to his table. -- One of the players’ mothers told us that Charles Smith works hard at his studies, taking them quite seriously. There’s got to be a set of tutors who can lend him a helping hand, I suggested. She said that he’d get the help he needed. She said that if a student-athlete misses a class, that he and his teammates at his position have to do extra conditioning exercises. She also told us that she’d heard a story about one player who was late for class. When he got there he found Coach Willingham sitting in his seat. -- WR Marcel Reece looked a bit overweight; however, his thick lower body looks to be a weapon of mass destruction. He'll be a load to bring down, inflicting pain along the way. -- Michael Gottlieb is a winner, seemingly with that Pat Tillman attitude and intensity about him. He was very proud of the Gold jersey he’d worn during practice for having an outstanding practice the day before. Gottlieb’s is typical of the attitude that Willingham is trying to instill in his players. There’s more to Tyrone than meets the eye. He’s cagey. -- Best smile of the day? It goes to Jovon O'connor (DL), without a doubt. -- CB Roy Lewis is a cutup, with a good sense of humor. --
I asked him whether he downloaded the data for the device through a USB connection and he said he did, that he went to three websites regularly when he was on the web, one of them being the weather channel. I told him that Rick Neuheisel is computer illiterate and Willingham responded that he doubted that was true "because Neuheisel is so bright -- maybe too bright.“ He was too clever by half,” I suggested.” “There you go,” he answered, with a smile on his face. Willingham was very upbeat and enthusiastic about the new season, just as he and his failed predecessor had been in each of the three Picture Days before. He can be pedantic at times. * Blame that on his mother, who was a school teacher. I like that about him; he’s so sincere and honest with you, so ready to “instruct one.” It’s in his blood. He’s a winner. -- A few snippets of conversation with the players told me they take their competition with each other very seriously. They’re undeniably proud of the Gold jerseys they wear at practice, a reward for having an outstanding practice the preceding practice time. ----- * Mal's word of the week: pedantic -- "a formalist or precisionist in teaching." I didn't mean it in the sense of being "ostentatiously learned." Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
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When we first arrived, the sister of QB Isaiah
Stanback asked me if she could take a picture of me and, of course, I
obliged. I was wearing the purple-replica jersey with the number 4 on it (see
photo left), her
brother’s number. In my previous five appearances at Picture Day, no one has
asked me to pose for a picture – or asked me for an autograph, mind you. David Samek (dawgman) told me he’d seen me on TV one time, on a sportscast that had
covered Picture Day, circa 2001. 