Not the sort of history these winless Huskies want to make
Now here he is, finally earning the starting center position as a junior and eagerly anticipating life as a big-time Dawg ... and all he`s hearing is the negative crush that comes with Washington`s worst start in 35 years and just the third 0-3 beginning in the past century of Husky football.
``Yes, it`s difficult to work so hard at something and this is your reward for it,`` Vanneman said. ``But I think it builds character in some way. It teaches you a lesson. I`m not sure what the lesson is yet. But for sure it teaches you how to persevere. I think it`s teaching our team that right now.``
You think you`re frustrated by the Huskies` current struggles? Imagine then, how it feels to the guys in the middle of the firestorm.
``I think everybody came here for a reason and that`s to win,`` said middle linebacker Joe Lobendahn, a junior out of Honolulu. ``So this is hard. When you lose three games already, when you`re 0-3, you just have to stay together. Because we`re the ones playing. We just have to keep on fighting and rise to the occasion.``
Yeah, it`s grating on the young men who think purple should be associated with something better than the color around a bruised eye. This is a team desperate for a victory. This is a team heading to Stanford on Saturday knowing there`s only one way to turn things around.
Beat Stanford and the Dawgs are 1-3 heading into winnable home games against San Jose State and Oregon State. This is the most forgiving part of a schedule that looks increasingly difficult for this team in transition.
Washington alums who majored in positive thinking can go back to 1963, when the Huskies rebounded from an 0-3 start to win their conference title and advance to the Rose Bowl under coach Jim Owens. Of course, that was so long ago that the team then played in the Athletic Association of Western Universities.
That team also was ranked 10th in the country going into the season. The current Huskies held no such national expectations. But they did have their own dreams. And none involved losing the first three games.
``I`m very surprised we`re 0-3 at this point, just because of the way we worked in the offseason,`` Vanneman said. ``But it also proves to me that it doesn`t matter what you do in the offseason if you don`t execute on the field in the fall. We need to step up and play well. That`s all we can do. We need to execute. It`s easier to say than do, but that`s where our mind set is. We need to be detail-oriented and execute our assignments and hopefully we can get a victory.
``I think once we get that first one and realize we can do it, we`ll be OK. But we`re struggling right now, obviously. We`re 0-3 and struggling.``
What`s a losing team to do?
Just win, baby.
Nobody understands that better than Casey Paus, the junior quarterback who lost his starting position as the driver of this winless club.
``Right now we just need a shot of confidence,`` Paus said. ``Once the guys get that, I think it`ll be a completely different team. For some people it might be a good practice. For some it might be a big hit. And for the whole program, it would definitely be a win.``
Paus isn`t pleased that part of coach Keith Gilbertson`s solution was replacing him with freshman Carl Bonnell. He would have liked the chance to lead the way back. But the Huskies` challenge now includes rallying behind Bonnell and not splintering into different support groups behind competing quarterbacks.
``This is a team game and we need some wins,`` said Paus. ``If that`s my role (as backup), then I`m going to have to accept it. It`s part of the game. You have to be a man about it and move forward.``
Vanneman, a classmate and close friend of Paus, vows the team will stay together.
``Our coaches feel Carl can give us an edge with his athletic ability,`` Vanneman said. ``I think Casey played pretty well, but I have faith in their ability to run this team. We just have to come out and execute what we`re coached to do. The reason we`re struggling is we`re not doing that. Whichever quarterback our coaches feel can get us a victory, we`ll get behind and we`ll support and we`ll be there.``
Certainly a victory at Stanford would do wonders for Bonnell`s confidence, as well as team harmony.
``We need to get a win to keep everyone happy,`` Lobendahn said.
Vanneman leaned back in his chair and heaved a heavy sigh. At 300 pounds, he can shoulder a load. But clearly the burden of losing is not one he`d like to struggle under much longer.
``Yes, it will be a long time coming if we taste victory this week,`` he said. ``We`re a hungry team. We`re hungry for a win and that`s all we have to think about.``
And so they head to Palo Alto, 12-point underdogs to a team picked to finish ninth in the preseason Pac-10 media poll. It`s not a position Brad Vanneman or any of his teammates envisioned when they signed on at Washington.
``It`s gonna change,`` Vanneman said. ``It`s gonna turn. That`s what I keep telling myself ...``
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