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Bowl Week: Jake, Huskies Prepare for Holiday Bowl vs. ‘Huskers

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Posted by admin on December 29, 2010 – 6:55 am
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With only 2 days remaining until kick off between the Washington Huskies and the #18 Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Huskies had their final practice as a team in San Diego, the location for the 2011 Bridgepoint Holiday Bowl. Wednesday’s team walk through is the only preparation left for Thursday night’s game.

Husky Coach Steve Sarkisian knows the task is tall and that Nebraska is more than a formidable opponent, but he is confident his team will play better this time around.

“Well, I think the biggest thing we’d like to do is at least put our best foot forward. The press conference after that game (56-21 loss), my major disappointment was the fact we just didn’t play very well.” Sarkisian said. “I can live with the fact they played a very good football game against us, but I’d just like to think we can play better than we did. To have that opportunity again is one that I think we’re embracing.”

For the team, getting to the Holiday bowl in Jake’s final season and winning the last 3 games are signs that the Washington Football program is making strides in getting back to competing at the top of the conference. But, more importantly, the reward of a bowl game for the seniors is fitting for a group who has worked through 4-5 years of challenging times.

“I’m thankful for our senior class, and I’ve said this numerous times that for everything they’ve been through – the adversity on the field, off the field, the ups, the downs, the coaching change and four and five years of it, and to what we went through this year – I’m appreciative of the fact they came to work every day with a great mindset and set a real tone for this football program as we move forward. This is a great reward for them to be able to play in a bowl game before their career was over, and they’ll always be part of this family.”

The Huskies, 6-6, were 3rd place in the competitive Pac 10 this year with a 5-4 league record, and Nebraska was runner up in their conference. Because both Oregon and Stanford made BCS bowls, Arizona and Washington were selected for the Alamo and Holiday Bowls and rounded out the conference bowl appearances for the season. Nebraska, on the other hand, lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game for the right to represent the conference in a BCS game, so at 10-3 they find themselves at the Holiday Bowl for a second consecutive year.

For a full preview of the game, you can visit the breakdowns from ESPN.com  or CBSSports.com. For more of a Hukser fan take, you can visit here.

The game will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN3.com at 7:00 p.m., Thursday Night from San Diego.

Washington at Arizona, Saturday @ 7:15 p.m.

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Posted by admin on October 23, 2010 – 8:35 am
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The Huskies, coming off a thrilling 35-34, double overtime home win over 24th ranked Oregon State last weekend, travel to the desert to take on the 18th ranked Arizona Wildcats in a key Pac-10 match-up.

Arizona is 5-1 and 2-1 in the Pac 10, and is coming off a victory over Washington State.  The win did come with a significant cost, though, as they lost their top signal caller, Nick Foles, for a few weeks due to a knee injury. While the injury was a significant blow to the Wildcats Pac 10 title hopes, they do have more than just a serviceable back-up as Matt Scott was a starter in the first few games last year and has the talent to keep their offense rolling. Juron Criner, their top wide receiver, has a toe injury but is expected to play.

The Wildcats will also have a little more motivation than normal as they’ll look to avenge last year’s monumental loss in Seattle, a game that featured a miraculous interception t.d. return by Mason Foster that propelled Washington to a last minute, 36-33 victory.  

While the Huskies are focused on this year, there is no doubt last year’s game had a significant role in establishing some team confidence when a game is tight in the 4th quarter.

“I think it was a big win for this football team from the aspect of I think it was three and half minutes left and we were down 14 points and everyone kept playing,” Jake said. “There wasn’t a sense that there is no way we can win this game. the ball bounced our way and we found a way to win that football game. I think that was a big turning point for us last year as a football team and moving the program forward. A big win for us.”

With a win vs. the Huskies, Arizona will most likely secure a bowl birth, an achievement Washington hopes to earn by the end of the season. But, with games vs. highly ranked Stanford and Oregon in the coming weeks, every game becomes crucial for the Huskies to achieve the post season goal. Regardless of the bowl ramifications, the team that is victorious in this game will have at least a share of 2nd place in the Pac-10 at the end of the weekend…if not sole position.

For a full preview, please visit here for the Husky point of view or here for a more neutral take on the upcoming game.

The game will be televised live on ESPN and can also be seen on-line at ESPN3.com.

UW Loses to ASU 24-14

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Posted by admin on October 10, 2010 – 7:34 pm
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Jake and the University of Washington played Arizona State under the weather on Saturday night–both figuratively and literally–and had hoped the Northwest elements would provide an advantage over their warm weather visitors. The Sun Devils, however, showed the rain wouldn’t get in the way of their first Pac 10 victory and cruised to a 24-14 triumph over the Huskies.

Jake passed for 209 yards and a touchdown and added a touchdown on the ground, but the effort wasn’t enough to carry the Huskies past a determined and talented Arizona State team. To make matters a little more challenging, Jake battled a flu bug throughout the past few days and into the game, a game that saw a steady downpour throughout. And, although he was able to stay on the field and fight through it, coach Steve Sarkisian said Jake wasn’t himself and that his condition hampered the game plan a bit.

“I would have liked to get him out moving and running more and calling more quarterback runs,” Sarkisian said. “We weren’t able to. Think I called three quarterback runs tonight because of the long-term effect of the game. I needed him to play four quarters. I don’t know if he could have made it.”

The Huskies–who were also without offensive lineman Erik Kohler (Mono), Devin Aguilar (hip flexor), and Johri Fogerson (hip flexor)–hope to heal up quickly, as the Oregon State Beavers come to Seattle for another night game this Saturday. The Beavers are coming off a big win at Arizona and are 2-0 in the Pac-10.

For a complete summary of the contest you can find a recap and box score here.

‘The Drive’ Redux: Jake Leads Huskies To Last Second Road Win Over #18 USC

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Posted by admin on October 3, 2010 – 7:06 am
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2 weeks after one of the toughest games of the college football career, Jake responded with quite possibly the guttiest and most clutch performance of his career.

A year removed from a game defining drive that brought the highly ranked Trojans down 16-13 in heart-stopping fashion, Jake and the Huskies had a chance for an encore performance. Down 31-29 with 2 1/2 minutes to get into field goal range and starting from their 23 own yard line, the Dawgs didn’t disappoint. After 3 consecutive incomplete passes, Jake hit D’Andre Goodwin for 18 yards on a crucial 4th and 11 to keep the drive alive. Chris Polk, Jake and the offense kept the rest of the drive on the ground to run the clock down, and with 3 seconds to go clutch kicker Erik Folk repeated his 2009 heroics to give Washington a 32-31 victory.

Afterwards, Jake described what he told his offense before they started the game winning drive. ”So when we got in the huddle I said ‘I love you guys. We’ve got one more down to continue this drive and give ourselves a chance to win this game.’ And there wasn’t one guy in the huddle that thought we couldn’t do it. I looked at each guy in the eye and saw confidence and that’s why I think we were able to convert.”

Jake ended the day with 310 yards on 24 of 40 passing and a touchdown, and also rushed for 110 yards on 12 carries. He also was able to shake off an injury suffered on the goal line early in the 4th quarter, a quarterback sneak that got the Huskies a crucial 1st down on 3rd and 1. The hard hit to the turf knocked him out of the next play, but back up q.b. Keith Price came in to throw a 1 yard t.d. strike to tight end Chris Izbicki to go up 29-28.  There was some concern Jake would be out for the rest of the contest, but he was back at it for the next offensive series.

 ”I knew I was coming back in the game,” Jake explained. “I just got my bell rung. I got a little woozy and fortunately was able to come back.”

 The victory ended a 32 game win streak for the Trojans when playing at home in the evening, and was in stark contrast to just 2 years ago when the Huskies lost 56-0 in L.A.

You can find a complete recap here. Also, be sure to follow Bob Condotta’s Huskies Blog for up to date news and player quotes.

Huskers Beat Huskies With Big Plays

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Posted by admin on September 19, 2010 – 8:11 am
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The Nebraska Cornhuskers brought their A-game on Saturday to Husky Stadium, and left with a 56-21 victory over the Huskies.

The Huskers exploded out of the gate with a 14-0 lead, and the Dawgs would never catch up. Holding a 28-14 halftime lead, the Huskers started the second half with a one-play, 80 yard touchdown run from quarterback Taylor Martinez and did not let off the gas pedal: they added a defensive touchdown, a 65 yard touchdown run by Roy Helu Jr. and a 19 yard run by Rex Burkhead to cap the scoring.

For the Huskies, outside an 80 yard drive in the first quarter and a 2 play, 78 yard scoring drive in the game, the offense struggled to get anything going. Jake ended the game with 130 yards of total offense, with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Afterwards, Jake was asked if this was the type of game that will define the Huskies season.

“You can’t (let it linger), if it does it will affect the way you play the rest of the season” Jake said. “It’s the third game of the year, there is still a lot of football to be played and the greatest part of this is we get to play another one in two weekends so it’s going to be important to put this one behind us, have two good weeks of work and get ready to start Pac-10 Conference.”

You can read the full interview with Jake here. And, for a full recap of the game you can go here.

The Huskies have this week off and will prepare for the start of Pac 10 play, beginning in 2 weeks at the USC Trojans on October 2nd.

Jake Racks Up 295 yards and 2 TD’s, Huskies Fall 23-17

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Posted by admin on September 5, 2010 – 12:58 pm
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Jake passed for 266 yards and a touchdown–completing 20 of 37 attempts–and also ran for 29 yards and another touchdown, but the Huskies fell short to BYU 23-17 in their season opener at Provo, Utah.

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.

#10′s Top-10 Offseason Moments of 2010

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Posted by admin on August 2, 2010 – 8:10 am
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As the first fall practice of the 2010 season is only a week away, we thought we would wrap up a busy offseason for Jake–an offseason filled with honors, predictions, and promotions. And, even though there hasn’t been any field action in the last 7 1/2 months–outside of the Spring Game and practices–there hasn’t been a shortage of Husky Football news and/or Jake news specifically.

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” jake-locker-new-york-trip

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….

locker-baseball-jersey19. 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 jake-sportsstar1

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.

locker-luck-foles-barkley1 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 Pushjl_front

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.

jake-4-heisman-rite-aid-sign2. 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.”

Jake Speaks About Decision to Return & Next Season

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Posted by admin on January 9, 2010 – 11:07 am
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Jake held a press conference on Friday with Coach Steve Sarkisian, detailing how he came to his decision to return to the Husky Football team for his senior season. He gave some insight to his feelings on next season, and mentioned the team’s bright immediate future was one of the attractive reasons to finish out his Husky career.

 ”Offensively, we were young last year. At the skill positions, we didn’t lose a guy,” Locker said. “They’re all coming back. They’re very talented players. We have a chance to have the All-Pac-10 receivers both on our team. On the outside, we have guys who are very talented, and we have guys coming in who are very talented. We have the opportunity to have an explosive offense. We saw flashes of that toward the end of the year. Now that we’ve got another year to become more comfortable in this offense, and another year to work together in this offense, I’m excited about where this offensive unit can go. And then, defensively, I’m excited as well. We’ve got some good players coming back and some good players coming in too. Overall, we’re going to have a really good football team. Ultimately, that was a factor in my decision. I knew we were going to have a chance to do something that I haven’t done since I’ve been here, go to a bowl game. When I was at home, sitting and watching all the bowl games, I thought it would be something fun to do, something you should experience in your lifetime. That’s why I made this decision. Those were probably the biggest factors.”

You can find more notes and quotes from the press conference at Bob Condotta’s Seattle Times Huskies blog, and Ted Miller’s ESPN Pac-10 Blog also has a few thoughts as well.

One More Year of Montlake Jake

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Posted by admin on December 15, 2009 – 5:05 pm
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jake-locker1

The Buzz of Seattle yesterday–and all of College Football–was the news that Jake was returning to the University of Washington Huskies for his senior year of football rather than enter the NFL draft. While there was much speculation to what decision he would make and a lot of opinions, Jake made the decision for himself….a decision that Husky Nation won’t soon forget.

A lot of links to choose from after a great day for Jake and the Huskies:

Jake’s dad, Scott Locker, chatted with KJR on Monday. You can find the audio to that interview here. If you want to read about it, the Sporting News has a relatively thorough synopsis of the interview.

Some great news regarding ticket sales for next season since Jake’s announcement: they are doing well.

Art Thiel and Jim Moore of the PI have two takes on the return of Jake. Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times echoes Thiel’s sentiments.

Here are some notes to what Coach Sarkisian’s take on the situation is. A quick summary: happy.

Ted Miller of ESPN.com looks at the 2010 returning quarterbacks in the Pac 10 and likes what he sees.

Also looking towards the future, the Draft Dish says that Locker’s decision was the right one for his future NFL success.

Dave Boling of the News Tribune has a few thoughts on Jake’s decision, including one that money doesn’t always make up or trump life’s ambitions.

And, an opinion from blogger John Berkowitz at UW Dawg Pound.

Week 4 Buzz

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Posted by admin on September 26, 2009 – 8:11 am
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A lot of excitement around the internet after the big victory last Saturday over the #3 USC Trojans.

Monday:

Finally, somebody in the mainstream media thinks Jake is worthy of a Heisman watch.

And Rivals shows Jake’s stock is rising in its most recent ranking chart.

Tuesday:

Jon Wilner of the Mercury News believes Jake is the best quarterback in the Pac 10.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times says that Jake’s stock has skyrocketed with the Huskies.

Jon Ellsworth of the Bleacherreport.com says that Locker is the best quarterback in the West and should be considered a Heisman candidate.

Wednesday:

Wes Bunting of the National Football Post says that Jake is the best NFL prospect out of all positions in the country. That is big praise.

Pete Carroll still likes Jake’s abilities an awful lot.

Thursday:

The Seattlepi Sports Blog has this nice story on Jake’s relationship with Kyle Roger the success of the fund raising efforts in Kyle’s honor, spearheaded by Jake’s announcement in the media of the cause.

Friday:

Todd McShay, ESPN.com NFL draft analyst, says that Jake has moved up to #7 overall in his player rankings.

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Don’t miss today’s game at 6 p.m. against the Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto, CA. Look for the game on Comcast College Sports, channel 412-415 depending on where you live.

GO DAWGS!