UW Football: Under Construction

Fig Jam

Until a few weeks ago most Washington State Cougar football fans probably thought their biggest problem with the University of Washington football program was the proposed use of public funds for the stadium renovation.  Until a few weeks ago there was no reason for them to fear or worry about anything else related to Husky football.  But in the last month the plans for the Stadium renovation have taken a back seat as instead the entire program as been under renovation by the likes of head football coach Steve Sarkisian and his new staff. 

Now, when Cougar fans peer over the Cascade mountains they do not see cranes busy at work on the remodel, they see Sark busy at work constructing USC north.  I think, all things considered, they’d rather see the cranes.

When Sarkisian arrived on campus he looked at Husky Stadium and the facilities surrounding the football program and correctly deduced that they were not the biggest problem.  Husky Stadium is old, but it has not ceased to be Husky Stadium.  It has just lost the football team that used to play there.  Adding brick and mortar to it will not restore that.  The weight room is not great, but what it needs is a little old fashioned elbow grease.  The kind that comes when players use it under the proper supervisions of trainers who know how to mold football bodies.  Not the kind that comes from building an entirely new weightroom with flatscreens that could be used in the same ineffective manner that that old one was.

In short, Steve Sarkisian has gone about rebuilding Husky football by focusing on football.  By going for substance over style.  He needed a strong and passionate defensive coordinator to compliment his offensive proclivity, and so he paid the money and got Nick Holt from USC.  Holt’s core values of hard work, competition, and fundamentals are instilled on a practice field where hitting is preferred, not penalized.  Holt’s focus is on football.

When Sarkisian’s USC offense was finished running (and throwing) roughshod over Penn State in the Rose Bowl and Sarkisian was asked what he would take from his time with the Trojans, he did not get sidetracked talking about the glitz and glamour aspects of the USC program, he talked about the importance of recruiting great talent.  He recognizes the need for football players. 

Now, it is true that the Husky football program would benefit from a new coat of paint.  The stadium renovation is still important and is under way (as well it should be).  Sarkisian will have a valuable role in this process, no doubt.   But his focus on creating a great football team will be what is most important.  If his work towards that goal results in victories on the field, then Husky Stadium will be Husky Stadium again in a way that no amount of renovation could ever simulate.   It will be a place where great football players go to play great football.  And the fans will love it no matter how many Starbucks are available on the concourse.