UW Football | New guy gets the job done — quietly

Washington redshirt freshman Ryan Tolar turned down an interview request again Tuesday, something he has made a habit since the day the team first reported for camp last month.

A UW spokesman says Tolar gives the reason, "I don't have anything to say."

"He's pretty quiet," confirms teammate Casey Bulyca. "He doesn't like to talk a lot."

Which makes him perfect to be an offensive guard, his position for the Huskies.

"It's definitely an anonymous position," says UW offensive line coach Mike Denbrock.

Enough so that few people might have noticed on Saturday that the 6-foot-5, 310-pound Tolar was in for every play of UW's 24-10 win over Boise State, having apparently solidified the left guard spot.

"He's doing some good things," Denbrock said. "He plays with the type of physical toughness that we like to have up there."

That physical style will be important as ever come Saturday, when the Huskies host No. 10 Ohio State.

"They are a big, physical, swarm-to-the-ball defense," said Denbrock of a Buckeyes unit that ranks statistically as the best defense in the country, having allowed just eight points in its first two games and having forced 21 punts while allowing only 14 first downs.

Those numbers are among the reasons it might seem precarious for the Huskies to potentially have two redshirt freshmen manning the left side of the line for significant periods of time against the Buckeyes. Redshirt frosh Cody Habben has been playing regularly as a reserve at left tackle behind starter Ben Ossai.

But, as Denbrock says, "I wouldn't put them out there if I didn't think they were ready for the challenge."

The two have passed every test; UW has won its first two games for the first time since 2001.

Tolar was one of three redshirt freshmen (Habben and Matt Sedillo are the other two) who ascended to No. 1 spots on the depth chart on the first day of fall camp after veteran players failed to meet some weight requirements.

While some might have thought it mostly a motivational tactic by the coaches, Tolar instead took it as a chance to make the job his.

He has held it since, with the opportunity now to become a four-year starter on the offensive line.

That's something that has rarely been done at UW (Ossai also has a chance).

The last to do it was Khalif Barnes, who was a second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2005 and is a starter there.

Barnes' 42 consecutive starts are thought to be a UW record.

In Pasco, where Tolar helped lead the Bulldogs to the Class 4A title in 2003, few are surprised at his rapid rise.

Tolar did the same thing there, said coach Steve Graff, becoming the only player since Graff became coach in 1997 to start as a freshman.

Graff said Tolar, who had been primarily a hockey goalie, was so green that, during two-a-days as a freshman, he had to ask a teammate how to properly put on his chin strap.

But Tolar earned his stripes that year when he got in a skirmish with a senior on another team and didn't back down.

"It was like, 'OK he can stay' " with varsity, Graff said. "That was the end of the story."

Tolar was a key member of Tyrone Willingham's first full recruiting class, but he redshirted last season, having shown up weighing about 330 pounds.

Since then, Denbrock said, Tolar has made "a remarkable transformation," not only cutting his weight about 20 pounds but also reshaping his body.

"He's really done as good a job as anybody from where he was as a true freshmen to where he is now," Denbrock said. "He did everything he needed to give himself an opportunity, and he's taken advantage of it."

Not that he wants to tell anyone about it.

Graff, told of Tolar's reluctance to talk, says with a laugh that "we taught him well. He's had that talk about being too big for his britches a few times, that you're not as good as you think you are. That you just need to do your job and keep your mouth shut."

Denbrock, though, says Tolar has to talk every once in a while.

"We force him to open his mouth and communicate with the guys around more than, if he had a choice, that he'd probably like to," Denbrock said. "But he's real serious about his commitment to being a good football player, so those kinds of guys are fun to work with."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com