“One more year! One more year!”
Normally those fourth quarter, final game chants are a way of saying thank you to an amazing athlete that should surely make the jump to the next, professional, level.
Not this time.
Jake Locker, the University of Washington Huskies star Quarterback, is actually coming back for “one - more - year.” Locker essentially sealed his fate as my favorite Husky of all-time this year after their defeat of #3 ranked USC early in the season and then one of the most impressive combination of running and passing performances I’ve seen in years in his season finale against ranked California.
Save me seats, Seattle. I plan on being up there as much as humanly possible this Fall. The Huskies will be looking at a potential 8 win season as Sarkisian’s influence grows and his players continue to improve. Big bowl games look to be back in the Huskies future.
Even bigger, however, will be the pre-season Heisman marketing campaign for Jake Locker. While Heisman potentials change rapidly as the season progresses, Jake will be the most closely watched Quarterback in college football. Under the expectation of him coming out this year, he was ranked as the #1 or #2 Quarterback in the draft. Well, with one more year under his belt, everyone will surely suspect a top performance.
One of the things that Locker has going for him is that he does not need to win a National Championship, and maybe not even a Pac-10 championship, to win the Heisman. Guys like Tim Tebow had to rely on their teams performance to boost their status. It is well understood that Sark’s Huskies are still young and “rebuilding” and thus their national expectations are not as high. So, if Locker can get even a decent season out of this team next year, he will be a major favorite.
Beyond the Heisman, however, one of the important things about this return is the potential for Washington Huskies football future. But, as I think about the potential to bring in great new recruits and build a National powerhouse team again, I realize that what I really do enjoy watching are the amazing athleticism and competitiveness of Jake Locker. I would rather have him stay than get 10 new recruits that bring the Huskies a National championship. Locker is that much fun to watch.
*image source: seattletimes.nwsource.com
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I live in Seattle and went to the UW and was at the Apple Cup this year. This is great news!
I live in San Diego but a big college football and pac 10 fan. Go to many UCLA games. Jake Locker is very underrated and he will be a better pro than Tim Tebow will.
Also, beating USC is nothing to brag about but it was great to see that.
What you should be talking about is really Washington basketball team. They have a very strong team this year. Nothing is better than college basketball!!!
Thanks, Jim