Jake opened the game with a convincing drive that ended in a 19 yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Jermaine Kearse and added a 9 yard touchdown scamper in the 2nd quarter, but the Huskies were unable to get on the board in the second half and couldn’t hold on to their 4 point half time lead.

Obviously, the team was disappointed with the outcome but they also know it is early in the season and that there is time to make adjustments.

 ”As a football team our effort was pretty good, and when you’re playing hard you can fix the other stuff,” Jake said after the game. “So we need to look at the film and see which areas we can improve in and fix those for next week.”

Here is the ESPN recap, and here is the game story posted by Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. 

The Huskies are at home for the next 2 games starting with the Syracuse Orangmen, a 4:00 Saturday kickoff from Husky Stadium.

“It was a tough game, a tough loss for us — a game that, in my opinion, if it would have gone a little differently, might have given us a different outcome that year,” Jake told Scott Johnson of Heraldnet.com. “It’s a tough one to look back to and remember the way we lost that one. It’s one of those ones that sticks with you for a while.”

However, Jake is taking this year in stride and won’t carry the thought of that play into the game on Saturday–he mentioned he hadn’t thought about it much since it happened 2 years ago. Nevertheless, he did mention that if he scores this time, he will take a different celebration approach.

“I’ll take the ball to the referee this Saturday for sure,” Jake said.

There are some good game previews–one from the Washington side of the coin and one from a local Utah paper.

The game will be televised live at 4:00 on CBS College Sports. Check with your local cable company to verify that the game is available in your area and that you have the correct cable package for viewing that channel.

The Manning Award, named after the trio of Archie/Peyton/Eli, has announced Jake is a possible recipient for 2010. While it is another award that is given to the nation’s top quarterback, the player selected is announced after the bowl games are played and the respective bowl performances are taken into consideration.

Jake has also made his way onto a lofty list: the Walter Camp Trophy watch list. The Walter Camp Award is a special achievement that is handed out to the player of the year, no matter the position. Additionally, not only does the Walter Camp Foundation hand out an annual award to the Collegiate Football Player of the Year, but they also recognize their Man of the Year, Coach of the Year, among others. Outside of the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp Trophy is the most desirable and significant accolade a football player can garner.

The University of Washington Athletic Department has teamed up with DNA Seattle, a local advertising company, to develop the 2010 media campaign dubbed ‘Saturdays Are Husky Football.’ Jake is heavily utilized in the campaign as his image is used on everything from internet banners and signs at the stadium to bus and print ads littered throughout Seattle. The full campaign created with UW Athletics is to brand Husky Football while promoting tickets for the upcoming season that is now less than 4 weeks away. Roughly 43,000 season tickets have been sold for the 2010 season to date.

The marketing effort has moved to its next phase, starting with a  TV spot that stars “Dubs” the dog (Husky Mascot), and features a Bob Rondeau call of another Jake Locker touchdown. The commercial is currently airing on Fox Sports NW among other places–below is a view of the spot on UW’s YouTube Channel which is part of their greater social media efforts.

In an effort to assist families that have daunting medical costs as a result of needed pediatric care, Jake has recently teamed up with the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s to establish “UW’s Touchdown For Kids.” The foundation was created to ‘provide world-class pediatric care to every child in our region who needs it regardless of a family’s ability to pay.’

You can jump in as a flat-fee sponsor or can make a pledge to donate everytime the Huskies score a touchdown. You can listen to Jake explain how you can be a part of this important cause here. You can also listen to Jake’s interview on KJR a.m. where he talks about the Touchdown for Kids program.

If we missed anything, please feel free to comment on your favorite off-season moment. And, if you missed any of the great moments of the year so far, you can catch up below.

10. The “Year of Jake”

Although the Huskies are largely unknown after some disappointing seasons and being tucked away in the Northwest, the media started focusing on Jake once he decided to play his senior season. Bruce Feldman of ESPN posted an article titled “The Year of Jake Locker“, an interview with Jake’s dad, Scott, and Jake himself. It is an insider piece but one quote particularly of interest was regarding his love for football and baseball:

“I love playing football,” said the younger Locker. “That’s why I chose playing football out of high school. I have a passion for playing this game. It’s what I want to be doing. That’s where my focus is. I’ve said that ever since I got out of high school and that hasn’t changed. I want to play football. That is my goal. But I also told them {Angels} that if it doesn’t work out, I’d rather play a sport for a living than do something else. I would definitely give baseball a shot at that point.”

There were a couple of other interviews to check out, a q&a with Jake on fanhouse.com as well as a solid interview with Paul Silvi in May that touches on many different topics. Jim Moore is also part of the interview to provide the comic relief and dog angle….his favorite subject.

Jake and his offensive trio also were highlighted as the “top offensive trio” in College Football by Rivals.com, a lofty yet worthy praise….

9. Mariner For a Day 

Jake may be under contract with the Angels, but on July 10th he was able to wear the jersey of the hometown team and throw out the first pitch. And, while he couldn’t be convinced to assist the Mariners for the duration of the game, he did toss an effortless heater from the mound.

8. The Accolades

Well, it may cause some to pause, but being selected to the Playboy All American Team is quite an accomplishment as it a prestigious honor that is in its 54th year. Additionally, Jake was put on the Unitas and Davey O’Brien Award watch lists, two awards that are handed out at the end of the college football season and given to the Quarterback who displays the best on and off the field performance.

7. Seattle Male Sports Star of the Year

In January, Jake was presented with Seattle’s “Male Sports Star of the Year” Award, an honor handed out by the Seattle Sports Commission at an event that was celebrating its 75th year. Jake had the opportunity to briefly speak in front of a room full of local sports celebrities, executives, and writers after accepting the award. 

6. A Football-Only Summer

When Jake signed the contract with the Angels, there was a lot of speculation and a lot of question marks to how it will fit in with a busy football schedule. But, when Jake quietly announced in late May that he would focus on football exclusively over the summer, it rang loud and clear to the ears of Husky fans.

 5. East Coast Car Wash Part 2

In an effort to increase the exposure of Pac-10 football to the East Coast audience, Jake teamed up with fellow conference quarterbacks Andrew Luck, Nick Foles, and Matt Barkley. During this whirlwind trip–the second for Jake within a month–he was on ESPN’s Sportscenter and College Football Live, and the Mike & Mike and Scott Van Pelt radio shows. As part of the College Football Live show he was interviewed with the group, and also competed in some unique skill competitions against his friendly quarterback foes. A full link of media for the trip to ESPN can be found here on GoHuskies.com.

4a. UW’s Non-Heisman Heisman Promo

In early May, the University of Washington sent out a comp. card to a variety of sports media and personalities with Jake’s picture on the front, accompanied with quotes of his abilities from the likes of Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh and others. On the back side it lists his measurables, stats and various accomplishments. From what has been inferred, this is just the start to a what the University will produce in an effort to up the exposure on Jake & the Heisman Trophy pursuit.

4b. The Grassroots Heisman Push

There is a fan who created a Jake Locker for Heisman Twitter Account, a “Jake Locker For Heisman 2010″ Facebook page that is rapidly approaching 6,000 followers, and also a short intro hosted on Jake4Heisman.com that forwards to this website–sites that will change as the season begins. Outside of the University’s future Heisman campaign, the fans are doing their part.

3. East Coast Car Wash Part I

In late June, Jake traveled to the Big Apple and also the campus at ESPN to do a 2 day media blitz. As part of the tour, Jake met with Sports Illustrated and went through ESPN’s “Car Wash”, a media smorgasbord that included appearances on ESPN2′s First Take, ESPN’s Sportscenter, College Football Live, and even a live chat on ESPN.com.

The 2 day tour was not only a great way to introduce Jake to the East Coast, but it also allowed everyone at Sports Illustrated and ESPN to get to know him. After his visit, Ted Miller from ESPN blogged about his visit, Bruce Feldman wrote about Jake’s “big year”, and Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel addressed Jake’s chances at the Heisman Trophy. Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times also posted a great summary of Jake’s trip to the big apple.

2. Happy ‘Jake Locker Day’

Ferndale is a small town in the far northern parts of the State of Washington. But, what the small town lacks for in size they make up for in heart…and on July 24th, all their hearts were with the city’s pride and joy, Jake Locker. Mayor Jensen declared that day “Jake Locker Day”, which also happened to be the annual “Old Settlers” Weekend. And, as seen on the left, even the local Rite Aid took an opportunity to welcome Jake back home.

 As part of the festivities, Jake and some teammates rode in the parade and was able to enjoy the yearly celebration with friends and family. There is a great wrap up here, complete with a photo gallery.

1. “I’m Staying”

There were 2 words that Husky fans had been lobbying to hear, and on December 14th they got the news that all was well in their Husky world: Jake was staying for his senior year at the University of Washington.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times was one of the first guys as the scene, and reported the news on his Husky blog soon after Jake’s nonchalant announcement to coach Steve Sarkisian. There were opinions on his decision far and wide, yet throughout all the scrutiny for passing up on a potential #1 selection and guaranteed millions, Jake held firm to his commitment to the coaches and the Husky faithful.

After the dust settled, there were many well written pieces about how & why Jake came to his decision. Ted Miller of ESPN talked about Jake’s priorities, The New York Times came out in spring and posted this article on Jake, and Miller posted this interview with Jake  during the NFL draft.

After the NFL draft was complete, it appeared Jake’s decision was a good one. Quickly the attention turned to the 2011 NFL draft, and Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated wrote about Jake’s current team focus and that once Jake gets through the upcoming season, he will still be a top selection in that draft. Mel Kiper, NFL draft guru for ESPN, echoed that Jake’s draft status will not change from ’10 to ’11.

“If you had to ask me right now who is going to be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 draft, I would say it’s etched in stone it’s going to be Jake Locker,” Kiper said on April 7th. “You can make that down. Jake Locker, if he’s not the No. 1 pick, it’s an upset.”

This year’s charitable 5k run/3k walk will be on Sunday, October 3rd in Seattle, and the hope is to achieve another great year of participation and contributions to such an important endeavor. In that spirit, Jake shot some promos for KOMO–Coach Sark’s website has some photos from the taping of his appearance.  

If you wish to find out ways to help without being a part of the race, please visit Kyle Roger’s team page. And, if you wanted to learn more about Kyle’s story, you can find it here.

Thanks to everyone who helped make 2009′s event such a great success, and we look forward to seeing you in October!

And, recently released, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced that Jake has also made their watch list for the 2010 season, the second consecutive season he has been named to the list. The Davey O’Brien award goes to the quarterback who displays the best balance of on and off the field performance.

Both award winners will be announced shortly after the completion of the 2010 regular college football season.

“I’m going to concentrate on getting ready for this coming football season” Jake told Paul Silvi and Jim Moore yesterday. “It’s a big summer for us as far as making sure that we’re here spending time with each other, getting cohesion between me and the receivers and the running backs and the line, able to work with everybody as a unit and getting comfortable with each other. So I think it’s an important summer for us. I’ll be here spending time with those guys.”

Jake signed a 6-year rights contract with the MLB’s Anaheim/LA Angels franchise last year after being drafted in the 10th round, yet was open and honest that football was his first priority. Nevertheless, the Angels wanted an athlete of his caliber and were willing to take the risk of him not playing baseball in the next 6 years. And, for Jake it is a great back up plan in case his football pursuits do not materialize after college–however unlikely that is.

Obviously, this announcement is music to the ears of Husky Football fans. If you want to hear the full interview, you can catch the full audio here. Also, you can read some more thoughts on the matter here.

On Monday, Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated has an in-depth feature about Jake’s decision to return to Washington for his Senior year, as well as how it may translate into team success in 2010 and his draft position in 2011.

Also on Monday, the University sent out a ton of postcards to potential Heisman voters to get them thinking about Jake in the 2010 race. Ironically though, there is no mention of “Heisman” on the postcard.

Ted Miller, Blogger for ESPN.com, posted an interview with Jake last Friday. He then wrote a story a few days ago that talks about Jake’s 2011 draft stock.

Bob Condotta also posted a story for Seattle Times.com that details Jake’s decision to stay in school might have been the best choice after all. Last Friday also marked a new video release of Jake Highlights, created by the University’s Athletic Department. And, to start the busy day, Jake appeared on the ‘First Take’ show on ESPN2 via phone.

And in case you missed it, the NY Times kicked off the coverage with a great feature on Jake.