Playing ‘Keith Price football'

SALT LAKE CITY – For one half of one game, Keith Price appeared to be something other than a smiling, touchdown-throwing, quarterbacking machine for the Washington Huskies. For the first time this season, Price appeared, well, human. Sure he hasn’t been perfect all season, but he’s been darn close for Washington.

But on Saturday, Price looked out of rhythm in the first half against Utah, tossing a bad interception, missing a few throws, and almost fumbling away a ball after being sacked on the Huskies’ 16-yard line.

“For the first time this year, we saw him a little jittery in the pocket in the first half,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We just had to get him settled down and playing within the system and allowing things to work and not rushing and hurrying.”

So at halftime, Sarkisian did what any good coach would do in that situation to get Price playing better.

Angry screaming? No.

Threat of the bench? Nope.

Maybe some supportive words and a hug? Not hardly.

Sarkisian reverted to mild teasing and humor.

At halftime, Sarkisian called Price up to the front of the locker room at Rice-Eccles Stadium to stand on a stool. And with all of his teammates watching, Sarkisian asked his sophomore quarterback a simple question:

“I said, ‘Can we go back to playing Keith Price football? Is that OK? Can we do that now?’” Sarkisian said.

Price’s response?

“I said, ‘Sure, coach, we can do that now,’” Price said, smiling as usual. “He didn’t really need to tell me anything. I knew what I needed to do.”

Vince Lombardi it was not.

“That’s how we operate,” Sarkisian said. “That’s how our team is. Part of that is because that’s Keith’s personality. He’s got a very carefree football.”

But it seemed to work.

“The team went nuts in the locker room, and away we went,” Sarkisian said.

Price responded from a less-than-mediocre first half by throwing three second-half touchdown passes and leading the Huskies to their first 4-1 start since 2006.

After going 8-of-12 for 81 yards with the interception in the first half, Price came out and went 14-for-18 for 145 yards and scoring passes to Kasen Williams (8 yards), Jermaine Kearse (23 yards) and Devin Aguilar (17 yard pass).

“I knew I needed to play a better second half,” Price said.

So what was going on with Price in the first half?

“I don’t think I was relaxed,” Price admitted. “I was too anxious. I was just so ready to play. I made some plays that were uncharacteristic of me.”

That hasn’t been the case this season. Sarkisian thought the added media attention that Price has been receiving for his outstanding play also was a reason.

“Well everyone is writing about him and how good he is all of sudden, maybe he tried to play to the hype,” Sarkisian said.

But the hype is deserved on some level. Price has thrown a Pac-12-leading 17 touchdowns this season. It’s the same number Jake Locker threw all of last season. Price also has completed 68 percent of his passes this season for 1,012 yards.

“He challenged me, and I think I responded to the challenge,” Price said.

Now the real challenge will be for the Huskies to get Price healthy. He suffered an ankle sprain early in the game after taking a sack. He got the ankle re-taped and finished the game, but was clearly laboring.

“I will still be ready to go,” he said.

It was another malady to go with the two sprained knees he had already been playing with, though he said the right knee is now 100 percent.

Heading into a bye week, Sarkisian said Price will be limited in some practices with back-up Nick Montana getting some much-needed reps.

“I just want to rest up and be ready for Colorado in two weeks,” Price said. “And I’m going to be ready to play in that first half.”