Husky Jacks open thread [2019]

Cataclysmic news guys

GrundleStiltzkin said:

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https://twitter.com/ChristianCaple/status/1164977735485149184

Caple is pumpin out articles to keep me employed here at Hardcore Husky:


Jacob Eason is officially Washington’s starting quarterback. Here’s what Chris Petersen said and what it means.

In retrospect, Ben Burr-Kirven might have told us everything we needed to know about Washington’s 2019 quarterback competition.

It’s one thing to give props to the scout-team quarterback for the sake of being a good teammate and acknowledging the hard work of younger players still waiting their turn for stardom. It’s quite another to invoke the name of Brett Favre while doing it.

That’s what happened in December when I asked Burr-Kirven, who was an All-American linebacker last season, for his assessment of Jacob Eason, the former five-star prospect and Georgia transfer who spent his mandatory sit-out year running the Huskies’ scout-team offense.

“He does things that you don’t normally see on a football field,” Burr-Kirven said then. “Like I said, physically, the throws he can make are almost unnatural sometimes. He’ll be throwing the ball across his body, on a line, 40 yards across the field, and you just don’t see that very often, other than maybe watching Brett Favre tape back in the day.”

Defensive teammates such as Jordan Miller and Byron Murphy joined Burr-Kirven in marveling at the things Eason was able to do against UW’s starting defense in practice, and coordinator Jimmy Lake said he often gave Eason the simple mandate to “dice us up” during scout periods.

So Friday’s announcement by coach Chris Petersen — that Eason will begin the season as Washington’s starting quarterback — feels more than a little inevitable, even if third-year sophomore Jake Haener made this more interesting than many assumed.

“You take it as long as you can,” Petersen said, “and you’ve got to make a decision and roll with it.”

Here are other key takeaways from Petersen’s session with reporters Friday, and what you should expect from the quarterback position going forward.


1. Haener is going to play against Eastern Washington

Why? It’s simple, Petersen said: “He should, he deserves it, and he will.”

It’s unclear whether that means Haener will get one or more full series in the first half, or if Petersen might wait until the second half to mix him in. But judging by how definitively Petersen stated this, I would expect Haener to see some action long before anything resembling garbage time (if there even is any).

That doesn’t mean the competition is ongoing. It’s not. Eason is the guy, and Petersen made that clear, too, when asked whether he might continue playing Haener beyond the opener.

“We’ve set our plan moving forward, and you’re always adapting and adjusting depending on how things go,” Petersen said. “We’ve got our guy. We’re not having anybody look over their shoulder, but we’ve got a plan on how we’re going to do this. It’s important to have a good plan. You over-plan, you adapt and adjust as the seasons go.”

The key phrase there: “We’ve got our guy.” Eason is QB1, and Haener is QB2. There is no uncertainty about that. But Petersen and coordinator Bush Hamdan obviously have a lot of respect for the way Haener goes about his business, and they want to acknowledge that by giving him some playing time. And if that helps keep him engaged and lessens the likelihood that he might seek a transfer, then all the better.

It makes sense to keep Haener involved for as long as is feasible, but I’d be surprised if Petersen continues to play two quarterbacks beyond nonconference play, especially if early returns on Eason are favorable.



Part 2 and 3 in the WAM.