Huskies to tab Steve Gervais as RB coach

Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham is dipping into the high-school ranks to fill out his coaching staff.

Skyline High coach Steve Gervais, the third-winningest active coach in the state, will be hired as a Huskies assistant soon, possibly today.

Gervais will apparently fill the role of running-backs coach, a job open since Trent Miles departed in December to become head coach at Indiana State, though Willingham left open the possibility of altering assignments depending on who was hired. It's the last vacancy on the staff.

Contacted by The Times on Monday, Gervais, who led Skyline to the Class 3A title last December, said he couldn't comment yet. "Once there is an official statement I'll be ready to talk about it," he said. A UW official said the school had nothing to announce Monday.

Gervais, however, told his Skyline players of his impending move at a meeting at the school.

"As a team, we're all really shocked," said quarterback Jake Heaps. "At the same time, you're really happy for him. His dream has been to coach at the college level. I'm very excited for him. You could see how hard it was for him. It's unbelievable to think he's not going to be there."

Added receiver Gino Simone: "It's a big loss for us. We still have to take care of business."

At Skyline, Gervais was the coach for Willingham's son, Nathaniel, who was an All-KingCo first-team center and second-team defensive lineman. Willingham has often been publicly complimentary of Gervais' coaching skills.

Gervais, 54, became the coach at Skyline, located in Sammamish, in 1998, the year after the school opened.

He quickly built a powerhouse, going 94-22 and winning state titles in 2002, 2005 and 2007. Skyline beat O'Dea 42-35 for the 3A title in December.

Gervais was 244-87 in 31 years as a head coach. He coached at Eatonville for 16 years, winning three Class 1A titles (1985, 1990 and 1992), then spent two years at Gig Harbor, three years at Rogers of Puyallup and then on to Skyline.

He was noted for his work with quarterbacks and being at the forefront of the spread passing offense revolution in the 1990s and has earned the nickname "never-nervous Gervais" for his calm demeanor.

He played at Puyallup High School and Oregon State, lettering from 1972 to 1975 as a quarterback, earning the Beavers' "Attitude & Scholarship" award as a senior.

His hiring at UW might help the Huskies land several Skyline players regarded as top recruits in coming years, notably Simone (a senior next fall) and Heaps, whose family moved in the third grade so he could play for Gervais. Gervais' youngest son, Riley, was a senior tight end for Skyline last fall and is expected to walk on at Washington.

Among Gervais' former players is Huskies tackle Cody Habben, a regular in the rotation at left tackle as a freshman last season, and walk-on receiver Tony Chidiac.

The Huskies will begin spring practice April 3. The annual Spring Game is April 26.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Staff reporter Tom Wyrwich contributed to this article.