Eastern Washington basketball star Rodney Stuckey of Kent has declared his intentions to test the NBA waters, as has UW’s Spencer Hawes. Like Hawes, Stuckey hasn’t hired an agent, and therefore could still return to EWU.
I spoke with Isaiah Stanback today for a story on the NFL draft that will be in our Thursday paper.
Stanback says he’s hearing he’ll be picked in either the third or fourth round.
He says he’s still not fully healthy, so he hasn’t been able to demonstrate his athleticism this off-season. He says he expects to be able to take part in quarterback work at any early minicamps with his new team, and he expects to be at 100 percent for receiver/returner work until training camp.
And that’s what he says teams are telling him regarding
…DevilsDigest, a member of the Scout online family, is reporting that guard Ty Abbott has decided to join Herb Sendek rebuilding program at Arizona State.
The guard has also visited both Washington and Washington State.
The Huskies ran through a two-hour practice at windy Husky Stadium on Tuesday.
Corey Williams was one of the stars of the day, with a number of catches including a nice catch of a Jake Locker pass down the sidelines after beating Roy Lewis.
The offense had mixed success in a fourth-and-goal drill from the one. Fullback Paul Homer was stopped twice and one Louis Rankin leap was stopped. But J.R. Hasty scored on a pitch, Jake Locker scored off-tackle after bobbling the snap, and Johnie Kirton caught a play-action pass from Carl Bonnell.
Jason Wells
…The numbers are mighty thin in some places — two tailbacks, two fullbacks, eight DBs — but coach Tyrone Willingham is going to try to divide his spring roster on Saturday and play a traditional spring game. … Even if some players have to play for both teams.
"We’ll try to keep it pretty similar to what it was last year – a football game – because that’s more enjoyable for the players," he said today. "It’s also more enjoyable for the fans. Sometimes you can’t do that because of the numbers, but if we’re healthy we’ll go in
…The Washington Huskies are looking for big plays this season, and they got a few today as they practiced for about two hours at Husky Stadium.
No. 1 quarterback Jake Locker set the tone on his first play, sizzling a pass to senior receiver Corey Williams on a crossing pattern for 35 yards.
Later, Locker found Rankin free down the sidelines for a 28-yard touchdown.
Soon thereafter, Rankin unleashed the play of the day, breaking a draw into the secondary and sprinting for a 55-yard score.
The final big-gainer came as No. 2 quarterback Carl Bonnell
…The UW football staff opened a two-day coaches clinic on campus Friday. About 150 area high school coaches were expected to attend.
However, the event made Tyrone Willingham and other UW coaches unavailable to the media today, so there wasn’t much news produced.
I did have a conversation with redshirt freshman guard Ryan Tolar, and will feature him in my story for the Saturday paper.
Also on Saturday, the Huskies wrap up their second week of spring drills with a practice session likely to include significant scrimmage time. It is closed to the public, but open to
…E.J. Savannah has moved past Chris Stevens in their race for the starting job at weakside linebacker, coach Willingham confirmed today.
He also gave these injury updates: Center Juan Garcia (shoulder) is expected to take an increasing role in practice this weekend, however receivers Anthony Russo (hamstring) and Quintin Daniels (knee) remain out. Cornerback Matt Mosley (back) is expected to practice today.
Also, kicker Ryan Perkins has been absent from practices due to a death in the family, but returned Thursday.