Steve Sarkisian's aura is electric, but the challenges ahead for Huskies could sap his energy

Steve Sarkisian wowed 'em Monday in his introduction to the University of Washington. At a news conference that doubled as a pep rally, there were boosters, cheerleaders, part of the UW band and four shirtless students with S-A-R-K painted on their chests.

About all that was missing was a calliope, jugglers and a yak woman.

It was high-energy stuff, nothing like what we've had from Tyrone Willingham for four years. This was MTV to Ty's C-SPAN.

All of it meshed together, and we got some sizzle. No doubt, Washington president Mark Emmert and athletic director Scott Woodward communicated to Sarkisian that the Huskies program of recent years has been as exciting as a cup of bouillon.

At the same time, Sarkisian's mentor has been Pete Carroll, the USC coach, who could get excited about fetching the mail.

"I expect our sideline to be electric," Sarkisian said.

The sideline?

Saturday at the USC-UCLA game, there was a palpable engagement on the Trojans sideline. Carroll was involved and Sarkisian went onto the field and chest-bumped quarterback Mark Sanchez after a touchdown pass. Special-teams coaches huddled players around before every kickoff and went into a group jump-and-whoop.

High-school stuff, you say, but the sense of energy was unmistakable.

I asked Sarkisian on Monday why he wants a sideline that crackles.

"It means our football team is into the game," he said. "They're not just sitting there waiting for the next series to go back out. They're not upset they weren't on the field competing. They're happy for their teammates.

"I think the guys on the playing field feel that energy and feed off it."

As with most of his football dossier, Sarkisian learned this from Carroll.

"No question," he said. "You have to be a part of it, to enable that to happen. Pete's fantastic, but he also trains the coaches to be that way as well."

So Sarkisian scratches a serious itch for the Huskies, one that Emmert got as a vibe from his advisory committee of faculty, students and coaches about a program going 0-12.

"It was really fascinating," Emmert said. "All of them mentioned the same thing — there's not any passion, any energy. It was like this low ebb. Certainly I was feeling this as well, but to have it confirmed by a cross section of the university community was really important."

It will be more important that Sarkisian's energy be channeled properly. It's not unheard of for a young coach going hell-for-leather to have missteps along the way, especially in an environment in which there is a passion for the game and for results.

A couple of former UW coaches can tell you that. Bob Bender committed an inadvertent NCAA violation within 48 hours of taking the basketball job in 1993, having a recruit on campus during a "dead" period. In 1999, Rick Neuheisel had to use half his first letter-of-intent news conference to apologize for recruiting infractions. (He explained that his NCAA manual was still packed away in boxes; moving can be such a terrible inconvenience.)

Emmert said he's satisfied from NCAA and USC sources that any indiscretions USC might have committed in the Reggie Bush affair were unrelated to Sarkisian.

"As we got serious about Steve, we wanted to make sure we really, really understand that," Emmert said. "I have a very high level of confidence in his integrity and his values. If I didn't, he wouldn't be here."

Noting Sarkisian's enthusiasm, somebody mused: If you were a recruit in a living room, who would wow you more — Sarkisian or Washington State's Paul Wulff? The consensus was Sarkisian.

But that has something to do with the fact Sarkisian's slate is blessedly clean. He hasn't yet been a head coach. He hasn't yet coached a linebacker who can't run or a receiver who can't seem to break off a route at eight steps. He hasn't yet had to explain giving up 60 points.

So, like everything else about Sarkisian, we'll see. Next fall, he gets LSU in the first game and USC in the third. If his sideline is still buzzing after that, he'll have something.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com