Constable Echelon: “If Kavario Middleton doesn’t show up next season looking like a man…which he has not…you know he’s looked like a guy with a lot of talent, but still kind of, maybe, doughy, and still kind of looking like a kid…if he doesn’t look like an NFL tight end next year, I’m going to be very disappointed…”

Fig Jam: “I don’t think he’d play if he did that…”

Not waiting until fall camp, Sark has seen what he was going to see, and Kavario Middleton has been dismissed from the UW football team. Middleton now joins fellow talented not-quite Craig Chambers as a fixture in future “What if he cared?” debates regarding Washington football.

First off, I’m not mad at Craig Chambers and Kavario Middleton. Kavario Middleton signed during a 4-9 season, and debuted for the disastrous 0-12 team. He signed on for a loser. Craig Chambers actually signed before we started losing, as a member of Neuheisel’s final class before he was fired for…whatever it was. Chambers was never coached by Neuheisel and instead endured Keith Gilbertson and then one year of Tyrone Willingham before leaving for a level of competition that aligned with the level of effort he was willing to put in – Montana. Chambers arrived at a directionless program, and wasn’t wired to put his head down and bust his ass in the hopes that everyone else would do the same in a complete vacuum of leadership.

The point is, you can’t make people who don’t want to work, work. It is nobody’s obligation to realize their potential, and it is to be applauded in the rare cases that people do. Fair play to both. They are both average, but by definition so are most. (Shame about that god-given ability though.)

This also got me thinking about another highly touted recruit – Anthony Boyles, and his progression from perceived malcontent to budding contributor after a position change.

This is a good breakdown of three ways a career can develop when a highly touted player doesn’t initially pan out. Under the feckless Gilby-Willingham regimes, Craig Chambers was allowed to play because he was clearly talented, and ultimately showed himself the door. Surely people took him aside and told him how good he could be, but those people changed from year to year. No programmical rudder. He had to let himself go. Noble, actually.

Kavario Middleton did Washington a favor by signing with us. He could have written his ticket for an established winner. Unfortunately before the ink was dry on his letter of intent he had just about given what he was willing to give to the program. Unlike Chambers in the era of dundering coaches, Sark took Middleton aside and explicitly told him what was expected. When Middleton proved unable to comply, he was dismissed. Terrible to lose a talent, but fantastic in terms of establishing a “We could give a shit who the internet said you were” level of accountability.

In contrast, Anthony Boyles licked his wounds, accepted that he had a better chance to crack the depth at db, and went to work to earn himself playing time. He is the type of Husky we need.

And that is how you take three quasi-related things and create a positive arc out of a negative news day. Boom.

Was the Apple Cup particularly well played? No. In fact, WSU was ridiculously awful. Washington honestly should have scored more, but I’ll take the first rivalry shutout of my lifetime happily. Fuck you, Cougars.

But who cares about those two losers? We had bowl eligible teams playing games! USC and UCLA pretended like they wanted to fight, Arizona State gagged on a rivalry upset in the desert, and Toby Gerhart raised a crazy question for America:

“What if a white, non-quarterback, won the Heisman? Don’t answer right away. Just, like, think about it…”

They call them fingers, but I’ve never seen them fing….wait, there they go.

Click the link below to enjoy our first show to exceed the half hour mark, as well as our first ever December effort. Next week: Bowl preview. Woot woot!

12.01.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (full show)

Fuck this sport.

Does UCLA have what it takes to upset a closer-to-average USC team? Can Notre Dame find enough time away from their busy getting-punched-in-the-face schedule to put up a fight against Stanford? Washington has to win, right?

Before they play ‘em, we pick ‘em. Click the link below to enjoy.

11.24.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (full show)

That Jeff Tedford sure mails it in a lot, huh? That Steve Sarkisian sure hates to call second half timeouts, huh? Do those new spectacles make Paul Wulff look smart or what?

This formerly two-part show is now one not-quite-half-hour delight. Click the link below to enjoy it!

11.10.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (full show)

Is Stanford a trap game for Oregon? Should Jeff Tedford be fired for that halfback pass call with less than a minute to go against ASU? Is Vegas daring me to bet the Cougs +33 at Arizona?

All that and we pick this week’s games against the spread. Click the links below to enjoy!

11.03.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part one)

11.03.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part two)

If I’m a UCLA fan, at what point am I allowed to voice my frustration that Rick Neuheisel has yet to find a way to consistently score? If I’m a Washington fan, is it blasphemous to wonder whether or not Jake Locker’s play is being influenced by NFL Draft whispers? If I’m a WSU fan, shoot me.

All that and we pick next week’s games. Hint: We like favorites! Click the links below to enjoy.

10.27.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part one)

10.27.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part two)

I really am passionate about the football played in this conference. I think it’s the best. The SEC is nice, but the Pac-10 has always had more innovative/effective offenses. Florida’s 23-20 win over Arkansas was alright, but there’s something about West Coast teams throwing haymaker after haymaker.

It is indeed possible to have well played football where both teams score the shit out of the ball. Skeptics look at the 81 total points and say, “No defense.” Wrong. Both Stanford and Arizona have shown themselves to be solid defensive teams this year. That was just transcendent offense. That was the Pac-10 doing just the fuck it do.

Was the USC loss a moral victory for Charlie Weis? Masoli or Costa for Oregon? Does it matter? Vontaze Burfict: crazy or really fucking crazy? (And to be clear: yes I would want him to play for Washington.)

All that and we pick next week’s games vs. the spread. Then we never talk about how we did because it’s usually poorly. But our hearts are in the right place. Click the links below to enjoy!!

10.20.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part one)

10.20.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part two)

That leaves Washington, Stanford, Arizona, USC, Oregon State, and Arizona State all with one conference loss. Obviously there is a lot left to shake out.

Can Washington keep things rolling this week in Tempe? How can anybody think that Notre Dame has a chance against USC this weekend? Jahvid Best is about to bust out of his slump, right?

All that and we pick next week’s games. Click the links below to enjoy!

10.13.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part one)

10.13.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part two)

Oh yeah, WSU lost by a lot at Oregon.

Washington was unable to move the ball forward three feet despite numerous opportunities.

Is Stanford a legitimate challenger for the conference title? Is ASU the team that took Georgia to the wire, or the team that Oregon State easily dispatched? NBC has some suspicious policies regarding which replays they show on Notre Dame telecasts, huh?

All that and we preview next week’s games. Click the links below to enjoy!!

10.06.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part one)

10.06.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part two)

But really nobody was where we thought they were last week. Fig Jam and I picked every game wrong against the spread. Every single game. This week? Wholesale changes to our picking process to hedge against a similar outcome!

Should WSU have burned Jeff Tuel’s redshirt? Is Charlie Weis humble enough to just keep running power plays at UW? Can Stanford keep it rolling against UCLA?

All that and USC @ Cal. Click the links below to enjoy!

09.29.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part one)

09.29.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part two)

I buried this on purpose but Oregon is looking damned impressive all of a sudden.

Jake Locker came up with two throws on that final drive that Husky fans will talk about for years. UW’s previously maligned kicking game found a new Folk Hero (thanks Dr. Fig Jam) as young master Erik came of age in a major way. And that linebacking corps never let USC’s pyrrhic ground success get to them – coming up with play after play when it mattered. Butler, Foster, Savannah. Immense.

Did WSU’s fans really rush the field after beating SMU? Will Arizona survive losing Rob Gronkowski for the season? Can I beat the rush and pick up Jahvid Best on my fantasy team now?

All that and we pick next week’s games against the spread. Click the links below to enjoy!

09.22.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part one)

09.22.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part two)

Say who said Dawgs ain’t bad motherf#@!ers

USC had just enough to take down the Buckeyes in the Horseshoe. UCLA went into Knoxville and shocked the Vols. Oregon State survived their annual self-inflicted trap game at UNLV.

Can the Dawgs take advantage of USC’s inevitable Ohio State hangover? Will we be anything but entertained when Cincinnati comes to Corvallis in a matchup of two of the country’s best coaches? And is WSU really a home dog to SMU? (Yes. Yes they are.)

Click the links below to enjoy!

09.15.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part one)

09.15.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part two)

Did UW do us the favor of winning a single game in our first season of podcasting? Absolutely not. But we still did 16 shows.

Who knows? If the Dawgs do well enough this year we might actually continue doing this throughout the season.

This week on the show:

Taylor Mays for Heisman? Was Kevin Craft worse than Casey Paus? Is it too early to anoint Sark the greatest coach ever in the history of sport?

All this and more! Click the links below to enjoy!

08.11.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part one)

08.11.09 Pac-10 Football Podcast (part two)

Image: educationmax.com

The LA Times is reporting that QB Nick Montana has committed to the University of Washington.

Nick, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana, is Scout.com’s #13 ranked QB for 2010.

This certainly takes a lot of the sting out of Skyline QB Jake Heaps’ commitment last week to BYU. Sark appears to be making good on his reputation as a California recruiter.

Nick Montana is a pupil of Steve Clarkson, a Cali QB guru who has worked with Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Leinart, Jimmy Clausen, Matt Barkley, and Terrelle Pryor among many many others. Jake Locker recently served as an instructor at one of his camps. Clarkson has received criticism for his role in the AAU-ization of college football recruiting, but results like that are tough to argue with.

Welcome aboard young Mr. Montana. I’m headed to a Mervyn’s to celebrate. Are those still around?

Here’s a Sportscenter feature on Nick’s high school, Oaks Christian, where his warmup act on the JV features Trevor Gretzky (son of Wayne) and Trey Smith (son of Will). It’s a regular game of Backyard Football down there.

The Guy Behind The Guy Behind Center (ESPN Mag)

The Seattle Times is reporting that

Eastern Washington University has been slapped with NCAA probation and sanctions committed during the tenure of former head football coach Paul Wulff, and Wulff has been forbidden from contact with his current team at Washington State for the first three days of practice next August.

ewu.edu

This ought to take the steam out of recent Cougar revelry in Steve Sarkisian’s suddenly microscopic secondary violations. UW’s alleged use of a fog machine to “simulate a game day experience” predictably led to Jim Moore mailing in a rote “Is UW returning to Probation Nation?” column a few weeks back.

IT’S REALLY SMALL of me, but I’m a speck of a human being who is thrilled by the reawakening of Probation Nation

I wouldn’t have it any other way, and consider me equally thrilled at this latest development. Anxiously awaiting your next column, Mr. Moore.

Unrelated: Paul Wulff looks like Buzz from Home Alone. Only he’s less sympathetic.

ytmnd.com

A new head coach being named might possibly give the Dawgs a little boost this Saturday at Cal. According to BetUS Sportsbook, the Dawgs are 35 1/2 point underdogs. Looking at the rest of the NCAA lines, that makes the Huskies the biggest underdogs of the week. Here’s to 0-12!

SARK BONUS!

espn.com

According to espn.com, Steve Sarkisian is the new head coach for your Washington Huskies.

First order of business? Tepid denial! Way to own your first story, Sark!

For the fans? Lose your shit! The Dawgman chatroom was supremely entertaining Thursday night. And if you’re wondering, the crowd was 99% on the side of TERRIBLE HIRE. I’m not there, yet, but I see where these guys are coming from.

Washington Football is in a dangerous place right now and needed a home run hire. Steve Sarkisian is most certainly not a home run hire.

Let’s have a rundown of the pros and cons:

PROS:

Not Tyrone Willingham

You have to make this a blanket category, so that Sarkisian’s pros list doesn’t inflate to include things like “practice will be open”, “better relationship with media”, “doesn’t speak in third person”, “has pulse”.

NBC Sports

Cheap

Or, since the terms of the contract have yet to be announced, he better be cheap. This is the second pro by the way and neither have anything to do with Sark’s coaching ability. Which is why I’m not trying to overthink this or even think about this rationally. At least we’ll have money to hire assistants…but we’ll get to that below.

Wants the job

Again, nothing to do with his coaching ability. At least with Sarkisian we’re not dealing with a guy who is feigning interest in the UW gig to get a bigger extension. The buzz seems to indicate that he gave one hell of an interview that knocked rookie AD Scott Woodward off his feet.

Has experienced Husky Football

USA Today

The 1996 BYU Cougars had a stellar 14-1 campaign with Steve Sarkisian as their starting quarterback. (Though their schedule was weak and I don’t understand how they played 15 games.) That one loss? In Husky Stadium. If you go through a year where you lose one, you remember that one. As in, “We had a great team that year, but Washington!”

West Coast recruiting experience

This is Sarkisian’s biggest strength. He knows California. Of course it’s a lot easier to convince Cali kids to play for USC when they all want to go there anyway, but his familiarity with the area certainly can’t hurt.

Used to winning

Not much to explain here. Winning is contagious. It’s easy to do when it’s all you know. Like losing actually in that regard. But Steve Sarkisian is, by proxy, a winner.

CONS:

ZERO head coaching experience

Imagine you have a once powerful program that has endured terrible coaching for 6+ years and is all of a sudden in the crapper. You make the correct decision to fire your joke of a coach, and when the chips are down and you can’t afford another mistake you hire…SOMEONE COMPLETELY UNTESTED? Not just at your level, but at any level. Wow.

No evidence that he’s even a good Offensive Coordinator

You know, since Norm Chow left, USC’s offense has somehow been their achilles heel. Maybe John David Booty wasn’t a great quarterback. Maybe Mark Sanchez isn’t a great quarterback. But if you have superior talent at every position, you should be able to trick me into believing that at least one of those guys is great. Maybe they go conservative at USC because they have such a terrific defense to rely on and Pete Carroll’s orders are simply “Don’t do anything stupid.” I don’t know.

34 years old

Not that I’m an ageist or something like that. I would have been pissed if we hired a 60 something coach as well. So maybe I am an ageist. I just wanted a coach who has been around the block between 39 and 55. It will be 2014 before Sarkisian can give the old “I’M FORTY!” rant.

thedenverchannel.com

Who in god’s name is Sarkisian going to hire as his assistants?

This is an extension of the 34 year old problem. Who is in his coaching network? This is also a USC problem. Why would any of their assistants leave Troy for Seattle? Especially if all you need to do is show up there for a few years and someone gives you a Pac-10 coaching gig? We could be headed for an all graduate assistant coaching staff. Shoot me.

Outlook:

He’s not Tyrone. He’s not Tyrone. He’s not Tyrone. Honestly the more you think about this hire the worse it sounds. I guess if you want a positive spin you can look to the late great Bernie Mac who said “I don’t believe shit until shit happens.” That’s good shit and bad shit. It’s possible Sarkisian injects vitality into our moribund program. Nobody was fired up for the Romar hire and that worked out well, after all. Sometimes the right guy is just the right guy.

It’s just a shame that after a half decade of “Maybe this will work” (it didn’t) all we are left with as Husky fans after the hire of Steve Sarkisian is “Maybe this will work.”

(It _______ )

Steve Sarkisian from petecarroll.com