Football notebook: Koetter knows Stanback's ability

Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter wasn't just delivering the usual opposing coach rhetoric when he praised Washington quarterback Isaiah Stanback this week.

Koetter has been a believer in Stanback's ability since Stanback's days at Garfield High. Koetter, who took over at Arizona State in 2001 after three years at Boise State, recruited Stanback intensely before Stanback decided to stay home.

"It came down to here and there," Stanback said this week. Stanback also seriously considered USC, but the Trojans wouldn't commit to letting him play quarterback.

Koetter, however, said he always saw Stanback as a quarterback.

"At Boise State we had a quarterback who was a dual threat player in Bart Hendricks and we did a lot of things with him as a runner and a passer," Koetter said. "When we saw Isaiah on film we thought he was that type of package. We loved his arm strength, his mobility, his toughness and his athleticism."

Stanback took a visit to ASU when the Sun Devils played Arizona, a game noted for a fight that broke out at midfield afterward.

"I've seen the atmosphere down there the worst it can be, so I kind of have a mental picture of what to expect [Saturday]," Stanback said.

Stanback said he liked Koetter and his staff, but the lure of staying home was pivotal.

"They were down-to-earth coaches," he said. "They were real straightforward. They weren't going to tell you one thing and do another."

Koetter said he knew playing quarterback was paramount to Stanback.

"A couple of years ago when he wasn't playing quarterback I was disappointed for him because in my conversations with him, I could tell how much he wanted to play quarterback," Koetter said. "We always knew he could play another position if he wanted to."

Koetter said in watching film this week he's seeing the quarterback he imagined Stanback could be.

"I'm happy as heck for him," Koetter said. "I just hope he doesn't play too well this week."

The missing corner

Had things turned out a little bit different, Keno Walter-White might be starting at cornerback for Washington on Saturday instead of going against the Huskies.

Walter-White, a JC transfer from Mesa College in San Diego, was an early commitment to UW in the summer of 2004 when Keith Gilbertson was Washington's coach. But after Gilbertson was fired and Tyrone Willingham hired, Walter-White changed his mind and headed to ASU.

Walter-White, however, said the coaching change "didn't really have anything to do with it. It was more just being closer to my family so my mom could travel to all my games. That meant a lot to me because I'm the first in my family to go to college. The football part of it wasn't really my main concern. I had two years left no matter where I went, so I felt I would play at either school."

Walter-White has started three games this year and been a key reserve in the others, making 20 tackles.

Notes

• Willingham said TB Kenny James is fine and will play against ASU. But he said it is still undetermined whether James or James Sims will get the start. Louis Rankin remains day to day with a toe injury and FB Ty Eriks also is limited with a knee injury suffered against USC. CB Josh Okoebor is out this week but could return next week.

• The Huskies have reportedly received a commitment from Jordan Murchison, a cornerback from City College of San Francisco. He will have three years of eligibility to play two.