UW Football Notebook | Transfer suspended in auto-theft probe

Michael Houston, a sophomore running back for the Washington Huskies who is redshirting this season after transferring from Texas, was suspended from the team on Tuesday after being arrested on suspicion of auto theft early Sunday morning.

A release from the school says that Houston's status will be re-evaluated following its own investigation into the incident.

Houston is set to have a bail hearing today in King County District Court.

According to a police report from the King County Sheriff's office, Houston, two other men and a woman were picked up by an Orange Cab at Déjà Vu, a strip club on Bothell Way Northeast. After the cab drove them to a nearby McDonald's, the woman spit on a window, the report said. When the cab driver stepped outside to call 911 on his cellphone, Houston jumped from the back seat to the front of the cab and drove away.

According to the report, Seattle Police found the cab parked on Lake City Way Northeast and saw Houston exiting the cab. Houston was then arrested and booked at King County Jail. He was released Monday night.

Houston was not with the Huskies last weekend when they traveled to California, losing a game in Berkeley to the Bears, 31-24.

Houston, listed at 6 feet 1 and 238 pounds, saw limited time with Texas last season as a freshman before deciding to transfer, gaining 27 yards on three carries. He said he left Texas because the school wanted him to be a fullback while he wants to play tailback. UW coach Tyrone Willingham said in August that Houston would be a tailback for the Huskies.

Houston attended a community college in Denver, his hometown, before joining the Huskies in August.

Houston, who scored 32 touchdowns as a senior at Montbello High in Denver in 2004, had been expected to compete for immediate playing time at tailback next season with starter Kenny James graduating.

Tailback is one of UW's thinnest positions. The only other players presently set to be on the team next season are Louis Rankin, who will be a senior; J.R. Hasty, who is sitting out this year for academic reasons and will be a sophomore next season; and Nate Williams, a Kennedy High senior who has said he will sign a letter of intent with the Huskies.

James to play?

Washington's running-back situation for this week might not be so muddled, after all. Coaches said Tuesday they think James will be able to play Saturday against Arizona State despite missing the final three quarters of Saturday's loss at Cal with a sprained right ankle.

Final results of an MRI on James' ankle weren't back yet when coaches met with the media before Tuesday's practice. But running-backs coach Trent Miles said he anticipated James would be able to play.

"When I talked to him, he seemed confident he was going to try to be able to be back, and back by [Wednesday]," Miles said. "We just have to see what they say and how he performs trying to be on the ankle today. We won't know for sure until he gets out there and tests it. But he really wants to play, and he's going to give a great effort to get out there, so he's not ruled out by any means."

James suited up for practice Tuesday and wasn't wearing a red jersey, but didn't appear to be participating in drills during the portion of practice open to the media.

Coaches said they met with the team's running backs Sunday to reiterate the need to run more north-south in short-yardage situations, which was a particular problem for Rankin in some key situations against Cal. Rankin filled in for James and had 88 yards on 22 carries but couldn't convert a third-and-1 in the final quarter.