UW football | UW freshman Chris Polk living up to the hype

Last Friday's scrimmage for the Washington Huskies had barely begun when center Juan Garcia went down screaming with an injury that could cost him the season.

"That's a tough situation for 18- to 20-year-olds," said offensive coordinator Tim Lappano. "It was tough for me, hard for all of us. It took us a little while offensively to get it going after that."

But a harsh reality of football is that when one leader leaves — Garcia, a team captain a year ago, suffered a severe foot injury — another has to emerge.

And after that dark beginning came a glimpse of a potentially bright future as freshman receiver Chris Polk began to showcase the talent that has him rated as among the most touted of UW's Class of 2008.

"He had a real nice day," Lappano said. "He just went off in the red zone."

It was the culmination of a few such performances for Polk, a 5-foot-11, 195-pounder from Redlands, Calif. Listed as the team's No. 1 slotback at the beginning of the spring in part because there was no other viable option, he has quickly proved worthy of the designation.

"Early on I wasn't sure," Lappano said. "And then this last week he has really come on and been really explosive. He's the real deal."

It's what Polk was hoping for when he decided to join in the latest hot trend in college football by graduating from high school early so he could enroll in time for the spring practice preceding his freshman season.

"There was nothing left for me to do in high school, so [it was time to] move on," Polk said.

Yet he says the thought of already being considered a starter for a Pac-10 team at a time when he could still be in high school is a little hard to fathom.

"Now that I look back on it, it's real crazy," he said. "I never would have pictured myself two months ago being where I am right now. So I'm just amazed right now."

Recruiting analysts aren't necessarily as surprised. Polk was generally considered among the top 100 recruits in the country last fall and initially committed to USC, a pledge he held for about 10 months before reneging and signing with UW. He saw a greater opportunity to play immediately for the Huskies.

"I just really wanted to go somewhere I could make a big impact early," he said. "I feel like I made a good decision to come here."

Not that it's all been a smooth ride.

Having never lived anywhere other than Southern California, he admits the recent weather has caught him off guard.

"First day here I wore shorts and it was just not cool," he said.

He's also had to make the typical freshman adjustment of getting used to a new team.

"I was kind of babied [in high school]," he said with a good-natured shrug. "Not anymore. I can't get away with nothing here."

Polk said he can use the tough love, however: "I need to work harder and focus on the little things, focus more and concentrate."

He has a lot to learn. Lappano says the Huskies will get the ball to Polk — who rushed for 2,561 yards last fall — in a variety of ways, saying it could be similar to the way USC used Reggie Bush.

"He's really explosive, and he can make you miss," Lappano said. "He can run through tackles when he hits you, and when he finishes the run he can always get two and three more yards because he can get behind his pads and move you a little bit. And he's got really good hands. So he brings a lot to the table as far as a lot of things you can do with him and being able to move him around."

Polk said he doesn't mind the high expectations, saying he's heard such talk his entire life. In fact, he's happily wearing No. 1 at UW, the number worn by Reggie Williams, the last Huskies receiver to garner such hype as a freshman.

Once spring ball ends this week, however, Polk will again become a high-schooler for a few days. His prom is the following weekend, and he'll also walk through graduation.

"I'm still living through my senior year," he said. "I'm just not there with them every day."

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