Don't count Locker out vs. Stanford

So many questions surround the enigmatic Washington Huskies and their up-and-down season.

Coach Steve Sarkisian is trying to figure out why his team can’t win back-to-back games. Quarterback Jake Locker doesn’t have an answer why they also haven’t lost back-to-back games.

Maybe there is no exact answer, hence the consistent inconsistency and a 3-4 record.

On Monday, two days after suffering a 44-14 loss to the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson, Sarkisian and Locker met with the media and continued their search for answers to familiar questions.

The easiest answer for both was about the health of Locker and whether he will play on Saturday against 13th-ranked Stanford.

“He’ll play Saturday,” Sarkisian said.

Locker barely let the question end before answering it,

“I’ll be able to play,” he said.

That doesn’t mean Locker is 100 percent healthy.

“He’s got general soreness,” Sarkisian said. “He’s still got the thigh bruise, which obviously limits some of the running, the explosiveness.

“He’s got some sore ribs that have caused him some issues.”

There were rumors swirling that Locker played with a broken rib against Arizona.

Sarkisian said that wasn’t true.

Still, badly bruised ribs feel only somewhat better than broken ribs.

Yet Locker refused to use it as an excuse for his performance against Arizona. He completed 17-of-29 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown.

“I threw the one ball to Cody (Bruns) and that felt good, I could have probably thrown it farther if I needed to,” he said. “Throwing doesn’t feel too bad at all. I really didn’t feel it all on Saturday.”

But what was glaring was the absence of called runs for Locker. His hurt thigh prevents his normal acceleration. And no amount of protection can stop him from taking hits to the ribcage. Sarkisian adjusted his play calling because of it.

“Ultimately as much as I want (the players) to perform and to play well, I want them to be healthy,” Sarkisian said. “I want to make sure I don’t expose them to things that could further injure them. I wasn’t going to do that with Jake. I wasn’t going to put him out there and run him in between the tackles and take hits. … That’s not the reason we lost the game.”

Sarkisian said that a less than healthy Locker who can’t be used on runs is still the Huskies’ best chance to win. Asked if he would bench Locker at any point, Sarkisian said, “No.”

So what would it take for him to pull Locker?

“If I don’t think Jake gives us the best chance to win,” Sarkisian said.

As a quarterback, Sarkisian had to deal with similar issues, particularly sore ribs.

“It hurts a lot during the week,” he said. “But generally what happens when the game rolls around (is) your adrenaline kicks in and you go play. And you wake up Sunday morning. You kind of roll over and take a deep breath, and (say), ‘OK, gotta another week to get right.’ I think that’s the mentality Jake’s taken on and will continue to take on. He’s a real warrior and a great competitor.”

Locker practiced Monday.

“I like to be able to practice and run around,” he said. “I always feel better if I can go and do a little bit to loosen up. I like to get out and practice.”

Locker participated in all the individual work, including several deep throws. He did sit out some of the reps in the team periods but it was more than he did last Monday or Tuesday.

Locker wouldn’t complain about his injuries.

“It’s football,” he said. “It’s part of the game. Everybody deals with it at some point in their career. It’s something that you kind of have to deal with, I guess. There’s not a whole lot you can do about it. Do your treatment and get as well as you can for Saturday.”

EXTRA POINTS

Defensive linemen Cameron Elisara (stinger) and Talia Crichton (knee) along with safety Will Shamburger (undisclosed injury) and running back Johri Fogerson (hip) did not practice. Elisara likely will be out against Stanford. … Sarkisian said linebacker Victor Aiyewa, who played sparingly against Arizona because of a knee sprain, should play Saturday. … The Huskies worked with yet another offensive line combination. Freshman Erik Kohler, who started against Nebraska before he was sidelined with mononucleosis, was at right tackle. Fellow freshman Colin Porter was at right guard. Drew Schaeffer was back at center. And senior Greg Christine was moved to the second team offensive line.

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports

HUSKIES’ OPPONENT THIS WEEK

STANFORD (6-1 OVERALL, 3-1 PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE)

4 p.m., Husky Stadium

TV: Versus. Radio: 950-AM

Coach: Jim Harbaugh, third season (23-21).

Last week: Defeated Washington State, 38-28.

Against the Huskies: Washington leads the series 40-36-4. But Stanford hammered the Huskies last year in Palo Alto, 34-14, rushing for 314 yards.

Washington connections: Stanford defensive line coach Randy Hart coached for 21 seasons (1998-2008) under five different coaches at UW. Washington receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty was a member of Harbaugh’s staff at the University of San Diego. The Cardinal has two players from the state of Washington. Junior offensive tackle David DeCastro was a top recruit coming out of Bellevue in 2007 and spurned the Huskies for Stanford. Sophomore fullback Geoff Meinken was a standout defensive end at Lynnwood, and went to the Cardinal to play linebacker but switched positions before this season.

Scouting report: Stanford has become one of the most physical teams in the conference since Harbaugh took over. The Cardinal features a massive offensive line that returned all five starters from last season. While bruising running back Toby Gerhart is gone to the NFL, Stanford still features a power run game with sophomore Stepfan Taylor, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the past four games. But the best player on the team is quarterback Andrew Luck, who is a redshirt sophomore in his second full season as a starter. Most draft experts have moved Luck ahead of Washington quarterback Jake Locker as the top quarterback and overall prospect in the country. The 6-5 Luck has thrown 19 touchdowns this season and 32 for his career.

Did you know? The Cardinal is off to its best start since 1970, when quarterback Jim Plunkett led Stanford to an 8-1 start en route to the Pacific-8 Conference title and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

PassingAttCompPctYardsTDInt

Andrew Luck20013366.51,728195

RushingAttYardsAvgTD

Stepfan Taylor1256245.05

ReceivingRecYardsAvgTD

Doug Baldwin2840214.46

Punting PuntsAvgBlk

Daniel Zychlinski1544.80

Field goalsAttMadeLong

Nate Whitaker111146

Ryan Divish, staff writer

2010 SCHEDULE

DateOpponentResult

Sept. 4Sacram. St.W, 52-17

Sept. 11at UCLAW, 35-0

Sept. 18W. ForestW, 68-24

Sept. 25at No. DameW, 37-14

Oct. 2at OregonL, 52-31

Oct. 9USCW, 37-35

Oct. 23WSUW, 38-28

Saturday at Washington

Nov. 6Arizona

Nov. 13 at Arizona State

Nov. 20at California

Nov. 27Oregon State