Gilby taking frash approach to rebuilding his Huskies
When Cardinal coach Buddy Teevens took over from Tyrone Willingham three years ago, Stanford was coming off a 9-3 season. Teevens immediately guided the Cardinal to records of 2-9 and 4-7.
Last year, Teevens inserted redshirt freshman Trent Edwards at quarterback midway through the year and did a little sink-or-swim with the youngster.
It was mostly sink, with Edwards completing 45 percent of his passes while throwing nine interceptions and just four touchdowns, winning one game in four starts.
But now comes the swimming. And with Edwards and a multitude of teammates a year to the wiser, Stanford is off to a surprising 2-1 start, nearly upset top-ranked USC on Saturday, and Edwards has completed 58 percent of his passes while hitting seven TDs and just one interception.
This is pertinent for more reasons than just the fact Washington travels to Stanford this weekend. It`s relevant because Husky fans might want to look at the Cardinal as a roadmap for their own future.
This is why you stick with a football coach and let him build. This is why Keith Gilbertson is switching to a young quarterback now, announcing Monday he`ll start redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell and grow with him.
Husky fans think they`re immune to the rebuilding process after 27 years without a losing record. But the landscape of major college football has changed. And if Notre Dame can endure a losing season, if Penn State can have down times, if USC and Alabama need to step back and reload now and then, well, guess what?
It`s your turn, Dawg fans.
``All these things take time,`` Gilbertson said after his Monday meet-the-press conference at Montlake. ``I`m sure there`s some frustration and impatience with what we`re going through. But it`s not like we didn`t see it coming. I don`t remember anybody picking us to finish first this year.
``No one enjoys these deals,`` Gilbertson continued. ``But it`s part of it, particularly with what we`ve been through here for years and years, kind of being in the crosshairs and coaching changes. We`ve still got some work to do.``
With a new university president and athletic director, Gilbertson can only hope he`s given time to turn things back around. But those outsiders might have more patience than the many long-time Husky followers already leaping off Gilbertson`s bandwagon.
Sometimes a little perspective is required in matters as emotional as wins and losses for a college football program. Gilbertson is happy to provide that perspective as related to his past and future opponents.
``I`m sure for two years, Buddy caught nothing but hell (at Stanford),`` Gilbertson said. ``Now all the sudden, he`s got a football team that had SC on the ropes for most of that game. There`s not a lot of teams in the country that can play with USC. So I`m sure they`re thinking they`re making progress and this is what they`ve been working for.
``You could probably say the same about Notre Dame. I think Notre Dame, from a fan and media perspective for two years, people felt like, ``Man, these guys can`t coach and nothing good is happening.` But now you look at them after two or three years of recruiting and coaching and they`re pretty darn good.``
Here`s the reality of what is happening at Washington. The Huskies will start eight sophomores and three freshmen Saturday in Palo Alto. That`s half of their 22 starters. Only five seniors start. Three more are backups.
Attrition and injuries have caught up with Washington. A number of the linemen recruited by Rick Neuheisel didn`t pan out, leaving the team extremely young in the trenches. Casey Paus, another top Neuheisel recruit, should be the heir apparent at quarterback. But he`s looked shaky in three starts and now gives way to Bonnell.
Quarterback changes are tricky. They can divide teams, split loyalties and raise more questions than a WASL test. Gilbertson says he`s never started a freshman quarterback in his extensive coaching life, but sees little choice on this one.
Not just for the future, but for the present.
``I think it`s the best move right now,`` Gilbertson said. ``With the way we`re struggling offensively, I like his release and quickness and maybe he can make some plays with his feet. We need playmakers and we just lost our best two in (injured wide receivers) Corey Williams and Charles Frederick. We need to make some plays and he`s a playmaker.
``Now I`m not going to thrust the whole thing on him,`` said Gilbertson. ``We`ve got to run and protect and be balanced. But if you look at our passing game, you`ve seen us throw the ball around here for years and years. And right now, it`s hard. We`re not getting anything there.``
So the coach made the necessary move. He says ideally this is the last QB shuffle this season. Barring disaster, the job is Bonnell`s from here on out.
Frankly, more disaster is likely on the way. First-year quarterbacks struggle anyway. Freshmen quarterbacks just multiply the odds of impending doom.
But if there were a better option, Gilbertson would have taken it. The Huskies are in tough times that require tough decisions. It would have been safer to stick with the junior quarterback. But that would have led nowhere. At least now the Huskies can build for the future.
And Keith Gilbertson, given time to recruit and rebuild, should be part of that future as well.
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