Huskies Notebook | After slow start, Locker shows fans his talent

It felt like summer when the Washington football team began its scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium, and like fall when it ended, with rain clouds moving in swiftly as the event progressed.

Jake Locker's kind of weather, apparently, as his game heated up as the temperature cooled.

The redshirt-freshman quarterback overcame a few sluggish moments early to turn in a few highlight-reel plays late and leave the crowd of about 1,000 even that much more eager to see him play a real game.

Locker completed seven of his last nine passes, including a 57-yard touchdown toss to Marcel Reece on a play-action pass, and also ran for 7-yard score to rally his team from an early 9-0 deficit.

The formal part of the scrimmage, which consisted of two quarters, ended with Locker's team ahead 14-12 before the Huskies turned to situational work.

"I thought he really settled in nicely in the second quarter," said offensive coordinator Tim Lappano. "He showed a lot of athleticism, made a lot of good decisions, threw the ball pretty accurate. Started out a little bit rugged but I think everyone was a little nervous in there."

But that was kind of the point of coach Tyrone Willingham deciding to open up the scrimmage to the public.

"Part of the purpose of doing this was to try to create somewhat of a game-like experience," said Willingham, whose team opens its season Aug. 31 at Syracuse. "Hopefully it was good for our football team."

The Huskies barely looked ready to play an opponent early on, committing a rash of penalties (including two holding calls) along with three high snaps out of the shotgun (one that went for a safety), a few dropped passes, two missed field goals and a shanked punt.

Willingham said the poor snaps — one by starter Juan Garcia, two by backup Ryan Bush — have not been an issue throughout camp.

"That kind of showed its ugly face today," he said. "We're not happy about that, but I think that's something we can correct."

Adding to the sluggishness is that six regulars were kept out as a precaution with minor injuries, and the Huskies also reined in the playbook with an audience on hand.

Locker finished the formal scrimmage 10 of 18 for 134 yards and one touchdown in guiding the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense. He also threw an interception in an overtime period, which followed the two quarters of formal work, on a pass that went through the hands of receiver D'Andre Goodwin and to linebacker Dan Howell.

Backup quarterback Carl Bonnell led an 82-yard scoring drive with the No. 2 offense against the No. 2 defense, concluding it with a 39-yard scoring pass to walk-on receiver Charles Hawkins.

Willingham said he was pleased with the quarterback play, saying that "for the most part, their mechanics weren't too bad."

The Huskies had trouble running at times and Louis Rankin was held to 9 yards on five carries in the formal scrimmage, though he had touchdown runs of 23 and 2 yards in the situational work that followed.

True freshman Curtis Shaw had 28 yards on four carries while Willie Griffin had 32 yards on six carries, though each fumbled at the end.

Hawkins had four catches for 76 yards while Corey Williams was the most active of the starting-receivers group with four catches for 49 yards.

"Overall, I thought it was good," Willingham said. "I thought we did a decent job at a lot of places."

Former Husky killed

Matt Lingley, a linebacker from Rogers High in Puyallup who lettered for the Huskies in 2001, was killed Friday in a one-car accident near McCleary, according to an article in the Aberdeen Daily World.

Lingley, 26, was reportedly driving a 1988 Ford flatbed truck that left the roadway on Highway 8 and crashed into a tree. A passenger, Paul H. Orris, 24, was listed in critical condition.

Lingley played sparingly for the Huskies and later transferred to Western Illinois.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Read his blogs on Washington football and basketball at www.seattletimes.com/huskies