For the University of Washington, firing Ty Willingham and replacing him with Steve Sarkisian is already paying huge dividends. Nick Montana, son of the greatest quarterback of all time and apparently a pretty good signal caller in his own right, has committed to Sarkisian and the Huskies to play football there in the fall of 2010.
Just getting rid of Willingham after the worst season in the program’s history (0-12, including a heartbreaking loss to 2-11 Washington St. after leading the Cougars 10-0 at halftime) was enough to make Seattle seem a little sunnier, but the fact Sarkisian was able to land a first team all-state QB with perhaps the best possible bloodlines might be enough to make Husky fans forget what has been the darkest period in the program’s history.
Even though the Montana name is royalty in these parts, Nick wasn’t good enough to start for De La Salle, and ended up moving to Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village (WV is a little Southern California suburb off 101 next to my Agoura Hills, a town I’ve only heard of because my aunt and uncle live there). In his junior year, Montana passed for 2,404 yards, 33 touchdowns and 7 interceptions,
Montana is either 6’2″ or 6’3″ depending on who you believe (so that means he’s probably more like 6’1″), and while Scout.com says he has good field vision, pocket awareness and technique, he’s a relatively scrawny kid who apparently needs to work on “size.”
Sound familiar?
I’ve watched more Huskies football than any non-alum should ever have to over the past couple of years, because my girlfriend (SGL, for you newer readers) graduated from UW in 2005 — about a decade after they used to be a good at football. So I know that while the rest of the team is beyond awful, QB Jake Locker is one of the most talented players in the Pac-10 (and also got drafted in the tenth round yesterday by the Angels, for what it’s worth).
It’s nice to know Sarkisian has Locker’s replacement already locked up, because what it means is Sarkisian has taken what he’s learned at USC and is ready to bring UW back to respectability, if not dominance. For a guy whose girlfriend’s mood is directly related to the fortunes of the Huskies, this is tremendous news.
