UW Football | Huskies wouldn't mind a heat wave

Highs in the 60s. Showers and gloom. This is summer?

If it's messing with your August state of mind, imagine how Washington football coaches feel about it. They're trying to get a team ready to play at Syracuse Aug. 31, and they're of the traditional school of thought — the hotter the fall camp, the better.

"You always wish you had a hotter August," conceded Tyrone Willingham, the Huskies' coach, after the first of Monday's two workouts. "There's no substitute for heat, but the real key is, there's no substitute for humidity, and if we had the heat, chances are we wouldn't get the humidity."

"A day like this," grumbled defensive coordinator Kent Baer, "I'm not sure anybody sweats."

Ah, you say, but the Huskies' opener with the Orange is indoors, at the Carrier Dome, and surely that's climate-controlled? Wrong, Big East-breath. Carrier Corporation is a world leader in air conditioning and furnaces, but the dome is merely air-supported with a venting system and has been known to get toasty for football.

"From my understanding, it can get pretty steamy in there," Baer said.

From the UW standpoint, the good news is it has been relatively mild in Syracuse in August as well.

"We can't worry about that," shrugged Huskies offensive coordinator Tim Lappano. But he added, "I don't know if we've had one hot day."

Let 'em play

Lappano said he was relatively pleased with the play of Nos. 1 and 2 quarterbacks Jake Locker and Carl Bonnell from Saturday's scrimmage. Locker was 10 of 18 for 134 yards and a touchdown.

What really got Lappano perking is the possible contribution of the UW freshman running backs — Curtis Shaw, Brandon Johnson, Willie Griffin and Brandon Yakaboski.

"I think a couple of 'em, you'll see on special teams," Lappano said. "Most of the time, these kids are the best athlete on the field at their high schools; they're tough and they're fast, they need to be on your special teams. I don't necessarily think we need to redshirt any of them. I like 'em all."

Lappano was impressed with the kickoff-return ability shown by Johnson, who he said "hits it downhill. He'll stick his nose in there quickly and hit it."

Lappano, meanwhile, wouldn't go so far as to say J.R. Hasty has a solid hold on the backup running back spot behind Louis Rankin.

"I think we'll have a No. 2 after [a scrimmage] Thursday," he said. "There's a good battle there with a bunch of them."

Notes

• Willingham called the Monday-morning workout "sluggish," saying he expected it after a "relaxing" day Sunday following the scrimmage. There were no media availability after the afternoon session.

• Willingham thought the backup offense bettered the No. 2 defense Saturday, "probably because of the offensive line."