Long ago and far away, consensus Pacific-12 Conference evaluations during the preseason ranked the Huskies’ Keith Price as the No. 12 quarterback of a 12-team league.
The book on the California kid from Compton is that he’s a raw talent who’d gradually improve as he gained experience, but Washington fans would be wise not to expect too much, too soon.
A week after coach Steve Sarkisian gave Price a low-risk, low-reward game plan that helped assure no pass would be completed for more than 10 yards, the redshirt sophomore made his third career start Saturday afternoon.
He responded by throwing a 30-yard pass to tight end Austin-Seferian Jenkins on the first play of the day. On the second play of the day, Price hooked up with an uncovered Seferian-Jenkins downfield for a 47-yard gain. With all due respect to Price’s predecessor at quarterback, Jake Locker never threw a prettier pass during four years at Washington than the 12th-ranked quarterback of a 12-team conference threw Saturday.
Price was presented a first-quarter game plan designed to disrupt the timing of Hawaii’s defense, and “perfection” would not be too strong a description for the way he implemented it. On Washington’s second drive – the first drive concluded with a touchdown after four plays – Price found freshman Kasen Williams for a 7-yard gain, then junior James Johnson for a 9-yard gain, then, three plays later, senior Jermaine Kearse for a 10-yard gain worth another touchdown.
Price didn’t misfire on a pass until the second quarter was three minutes old. By then, he was 8-for-8 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. At halftime, he was 13-for-17 for 272 yards and three touchdowns.
Hawaii’s Bryant Moniz – on the watch lists for all of the awards acknowledging quarterback excellence, as well as the watch list for the Heisman Trophy – figured prominently in the Huskies’ scouting reports.
And make no mistake, the ponytailed senior is the real deal. He led the nation in passing yardage and passing touchdowns last season, and should he scorch the likes of UNLV and Louisiana Tech and Tulane the way he scorched the Huskies – Moniz ended up completing 31 of 45 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown – he’ll lead the nation again.
Moniz lived up to his reputation, but it was Price who was the difference maker in Washington’s 40-32 win. His accuracy and superior field vision provided the Huskies with a 21-0 cushion in the first quarter, and then it was an exercise in holding serve.
After Price’s 315-yard passing performance equaled Locker’s output of 300-yard games in 2010, Sarkisian was asked how good Price can be.
“As good as he wants to be,” the coach replied. “He has all the game. I’ve always known that. It might be hard to see for people who don’t watch him in practice and know him from only one or two starts, but he understands the offensive extremely well, and he anticipates things really well. He knows where things are going.”
Price breakthrough afternoon wasn’t without its mistakes, the most glaring of which was the second-quarter pass Hawaii safety Richard Torres picked off a yard shy of his end zone, and returned the length of the field. In a matter of seconds, the Huskies’ chance at a 28-7 lead in a blowout was converted into a oddly suspenseful 21-14 advantage.
“We talked about it,” Price said of his sideline conversation with Sarkisian. “He tried to blame himself, but that was all on me.”
A former standout quarterback at BYU, Sarkisian precisely determined the mechanical breakdown that led to the pick.
“I told him, ‘Hey, it’s a five-step drop, no hitch and you throw it,’ ” Sarkisian recalled. “And if you don’t like it, reset your feet and come off of it. He was a little late and I said, ‘Hey, let’s bounce back. We got the ball, we got timeouts, two-minute drive, let’s see if we can get some points on the board.’ ”
Less than two minutes later, Devin Aguilar pulled in a 31-yard touchdown pass, and the Huskies had another seven points on the board. Aguilar was among the nine different targets Price found – a remarkable statistic for a quarterback who completed 18 passes.
“All I can say is, No. 17 is awesome, man,” Johnson said. “We have so many receivers that you never know what you are going to get from us. We can hit you from so many different angles, and that is the big thing about having Keith.
“He gets the ball to everybody whenever they are open. It’s a blessing to have a quarterback like that. I am really looking forward to seeing how he progresses during the season.”
Price is progressing like this: If the Huskies return to a bowl game this season, it won’t be despite the first-year starting quarterback. If the Huskies return to a bowl, it’ll be because of the first-year starting quarterback.
As for those preseason rankings that determined the Huskies’ first-year starting quarterback 12th out of 12 in the Pac-12?
“I don’t look at quarterback ratings,” Price said. “I just come out every day and try to win.”
On that count – it’s 2-0 – Keith Price is tied for the national lead.
john.mcgrath@thenewstribune.com
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