Washington 2005 Season | Team Page	Select Conference ACC Big East Big Ten Big 12 Conference USA Independents MAC Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC Select Team

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The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Tyrone Willingham (2nd season, 2-9) 2005 record: 2-9 Pac-10 finish: 1-7 (t-9th) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 72nd (135.2 ypg) Passing: 58th (222.8 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 49th (143.4 ypg) Passing: 106th (275.7 ypg) Date Opponent Sept. 2 San Jose State Sept. 9 at Oklahoma Sept. 16 Fresno State Sept. 23 UCLA Sept. 30 at Arizona Oct. 7 at USC Oct. 14 Oregon State Oct. 21 at California Oct. 28 Arizona State Nov. 4 at Oregon Nov. 11 Stanford Nov. 18 at Wash. State Depth Chart: Offense 6 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. WR 21 Sonny Shackelford Sr. 18 Corey Williams Jr. WR 5 Anthony Russo Jr. 1 Chancellor Young Jr. LT 79 Ben Ossai Fr. 76 Morgan Rosborough Fr. LG 74 Stanley Daniels Sr. 72 Casey Bulyca So. C 58 Juan Garcia Sr. 73 Ryan Bush So. RG 63 Clay Walker Sr. 54 William Kava Jr. RT 75 Chad Macklin Jr. 76 Nathan Flowers So. TE 88 Robert Lewis Jr. 37 Johnie Kirton So. QB 4 Isaiah Stanback Sr. 11 Carl Bonnell Jr. FB 43 Mark Palaita Sr. 32 Luke Kravitz So. TB 8 Kenny James Sr. 9 Louis Rankin Jr. Depth Chart: Defense 8 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 91 Donny Mateaki Sr. 92 Walt Winter So. DT 74 Wilson Afoa Jr. 77 Erick Lobos Jr. DT 66 Daniel Te’o-Nesheim Fr. 71 Jovon O’Connor So. DE 7 Greyson Gunheim Jr. 85 Caesar Rayford Jr. OLB 4 Scott White Sr. 34 Dan Howell Jr. ILB 47 Tahj Bomar Sr. 57 Trenton Tuiasosopo So. OLB 29 Chris Stevens So. 22 E.J. Savannah Fr. CB 8 Dashon Goldson Sr. 16 Jordan Murchison Jr. CB 28 Roy Lewis Jr. 6 Matt Fountaine Jr. SS 1 C.J. Wallace Sr. 3 Chris Hemphill Jr. FS 26 Jason Wells Jr. 19 Mesphin Forrester So. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 14 Michael Braunstein Jr. P 17 Sean Douglas Sr. KR 28 Roy Lewis Jr. PR 21 Sonny Shackelford Sr.

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After two disastrous seasons under different coaches, the Washington football team insists it is no longer hooked up to life-support. The Huskies maintain their intensive rehabilitation is on track. They're feeling better.

How soon they can get discharged and head home -- with home being the Pac-10 upper division and bowl game participation -- remains unclear. The Huskies have only three victories in their past 22 games, including a single win against a league opponent. Even with 14 starters returning, they are still taking baby steps.

Coach Ty Willingham enters the second year of a major rebuild, the magnitude of which admittedly surprised him once he first started sorting through this mess. The Huskies' talent level still needs an upgrade, but Willingham's first order of business has been to restore confidence that completely dissipated among the holdover players, starting with senior quarterback Isaiah Stanback.

An exceptional athlete with sprinter speed yet prone to crucial mistakes, Stanback was handed a tape of the most recent Rose Bowl game during the offseason. He was told to study the dual-threat ability of former Texas quarterback Vince Young. The UW player was asked to picture himself making similar game-breaking plays.

"I'm probably faster than Vince," says Stanback, who has a 4.4-second 40-yard dash time. "It was good to look at [the tape] and see when he decided to run, to use it as a reference for me to get out of the pocket."

In the spring game, Stanback was productive. He tossed a couple of long scoring passes. He demonstrated Young-like leadership ability. He created overdue hope for long-suffering program followers.

"He's the general now," Huskies offensive coordinator Tim Lappano says.

OFFENSE

Senior running back Kenny James, a 702-yard rusher two years ago but injured much of last season, has reclaimed the starting job. He'll split time with junior speedster Louis Rankin, who came up with three 100-yard rushing games last season before going out with a toe injury. Highly regarded freshman J.R. Hasty provides another desirable option.

The lack of a deep threat was a concern when disgruntled wideout Craig Chambers left for Montana, but Duke transfer Chancellor Young caught a 55-yard scoring pass in the spring game, and junior Anthony Russo hauled in a 43-yarder. Leading receiver Sonny Shackelford and his 41 catches return.

The Huskies lost five of their top seven blockers from the season before, and Willingham considers this area his biggest offensive uncertainty. Senior guards Stanley Daniels and Clay Walker are the most experienced, having been part-time starters for the past two and three seasons, respectively.

DEFENSE

Game-tested yet undersized players man most starting positions up front, notably junior end Greyson Gunheim, a two-year starter.

The defensive strength for two seasons, the linebacking corps now raises the most questions. Senior Scott White, a two-year starter, is the only returnee, though sophomore Chris Stevens was a big-play performer as a reserve in his first year.

Sophomore linebacker Trenton Tuiasosopo, a member of one of the UW's most prominent football families, is back from a cycling accident that left him with a serious head injury and sidelined for 15 months. He could displace one of the regulars and be the defensive newcomer making the biggest impact.

The secondary couldn't stop anyone last season, giving up 24 scoring passes and 3,033 yards at a 66 percent completion rate. Two-year starting free safety Dashon Goldson was moved to cornerback in the spring. Cornerback Roy Lewis and strong safety C.J. Wallace are returning starters.

SPECIALISTS

Senior Sean Douglas, with a 42.6-yard average but an alarming frequency for having punts blocked, and junior Michael Braunstein, previously a part-time player with only three career field goals on his résumé, will handle the kicking chores.

FINAL ANALYSIS

This once-proud program is now in danger of going an entire recruiting class without making a postseason appearance. To avoid a bowl game shutout for Stanback and the rest of the seniors, Willingham understands that significant strides must be made this season, saying, "There's not one area where we don't need vast improvement."

Stanback's expected improvement should make the Huskies more competitive in the Pac-10. Whether they can play their way out of the league's basement should be determined by moves made to shore up the porous secondary and find able linebacker replacements.