He’s Back! Jake Locker Returns

We talked about it all last week, and your wishes have come true! The Cougs might disagree, but to the rest of Seattle, Christmas has come early. Of course, we had quite the lot weigh in.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of talking to Washington Head Coach, Steve Sarkisian. Jake hadn’t yet played in his final game, but we had a lot to talk about regarding the young quarterback’s future.

According to his coach, this season has shown true growth.

“I’ve seen a young man grow, not only physically, but mentally. This season has had, obviously some growing pains – you’re learning a new system, a new style of play. But the competitive nature hasn’t changed – the guy battles and competes and prepares mentally, physically better than anyone.”

If he was to stay at Washington, Coach Sarkisian did think he could improve in one facet of the game.

“The overall rhythm and efficiency in the passing game. To anticipate throws and deliver the ball accurately.”

Sarkisian had quite the read on Locker, as Todd McShay of ESPN even had him ranked as a possible #1 pick in the 2010 draft an hour before he made his announcement this morning.

Last Thursday, we had a “Husky Quarterback Roundtable” here on The Kevin Calabro Show. Former UW QB’s, Damon Huard and Warren Moon, joined me in studio to weigh in on Locker’s future.

Damon, as to be expected, wanted Jake to come back – but for more than one reason. “As a Husky fan, I want the guy to come back in such a big way. He will probably go down as the greatest quarterback to play at the school.”

Strong words from a former UW quarterback – but Warren Moon agreed, stating that Jake’s future at the University provides many reasons to stay for his final year.

“I think everything is in front of him to be one of the highly decorated quarterbacks in University of Washington history. There’s probably a Heisman Trophy candidacy in his future, Pac-10 Title maybe, All-American – all those different things…are right there for him.”

Both gentlemen make excellent points – and as UW alumni, there’s plenty of reason for them to want him back. But what about an outsider’s point of view? An outsider who played for a Pac-10 opponent, who also happens to be Hall of Fame quarterback, John Elway? If anyone could provide insight to the situation, he’d certainly be at the top of the list. So we called him up and asked him what Jake could gain from another year at school.

“I think that Jake would be better off staying and getting one more year of football under his belt. You learn a lot more playing the game than you do as a third-string quarterback on an NFL roster – so I think that the year of experience would help him tremendously , and probably boost his stock quite a bit.”

Wish granted, Seattle! Once again, we will don our #10 purple and gold jerseys on Saturdays, wait with anticipation as the Huskies take the field and holler like heck when the Dawgs score!

How pumped are you that Jake Locker is back? We’ll be taking your thoughts all week long, so leave ’em below!