Huskies Football | Josh Gage gains starting linebacker position

Josh Gage knows that in the minds of some Huskies fans, the math doesn't really add up.

With E.J. Savannah and his team-high 111 tackles of last year indefinitely sidelined, Gage steps in to a starting position at linebacker with a career total of seven tackles.

Gage, a junior, says he understands the fretting in some quarters, but it's not something he's worried about.

"E.J.'s a great player, and he's got tremendous ability," he said. "It doesn't bother me. I'm just thankful for the opportunity."

Besides, the equation isn't really that simple.

Washington coaches and players are being coy about it heading into Saturday's opener at Oregon, but in the new defense being designed by first-year coordinator Ed Donatell, the responsibilities of the linebackers aren't the same as they were a season ago.

If Savannah were here, he'd apparently be playing the same weakside spot currently manned by Mason Foster. Gage, meanwhile, is playing strongside linebacker, or lining up over the tight end, the position held last year by Dan Howell, who was a senior.

Asked if he thinks he'd be a starter if Savannah were here, Gage says, "Who knows? He wasn't playing my spot, so that was kind of a funny misconception."

What's not a misconception is that the 6-foot-2, 226-pound Gage has already succeeded far beyond what might have been expected when he arrived at UW as a walk-on in 2005.

Although listed from Huntington Beach, Calif., Gage grew up on Orcas Island, playing football there through his sophomore year. Mostly because he wanted to play at a higher level, Gage and his parents moved to Southern California after his sophomore year. Instantly, he went from a school of a couple of hundred to one of a couple thousand at Edison High School.

"It was just getting the chance to play against the best players around," Gage said. "I've always been competitive like that. I wanted to see if I could do it. I had no idea coming from a 1A school."

He soon found out he could, earning all-league honors as a running back and linebacker. But he didn't receive any scholarship offers from four-year schools at any level.

"I was playing against schools like Mater Dei and Long Beach Poly, so I don't know why," he said.

Having grown up a UW fan — with his parents planning to move back to the area — and wanting again to test himself at the highest level, he decided to walk on at Washington.

Gage made an immediate impression as a fast learner and gradually worked his way up the depth chart, playing regularly on special teams last season and sometimes in the nickel package and as Savannah's backup.

Savannah, however, hasn't practiced with the team this fall due to academic problems and other unstated issues. Coach Tyrone Willingham said in an interview on KJR this week that "there are some things that have taken place that are very promising," but that more steps must be taken before Savannah can return.

While they'd surely welcome Savannah back, UW coaches say the symbolic, if not literal, replacing of Savannah with Gage doesn't mean there will be a drop-off in play.

"He stands out ... because he has excellent reaction time," Donatell said of Gage. "Things are happening in front of him and he can choose the right window."

Says Foster: "He's a real smart guy. He's real calm on the field. It's good to have him there. I'm real energetic, real excited, and he's real calm and he's always thinking. He always knows what's going on."

Further signifying his arrival, Gage was put on scholarship last season.

"When I came here, I didn't really know what to expect," he said. "I did have a lot of confidence in myself as a player, and then after a while being here, you get to realize what it takes, and I definitely felt like I had what it takes. I guess in that sense I'm not surprised, just grateful for my opportunities and that it gives me a chance to show what I can do."

Becoming a starter this fall only adds to what has been a good year for Gage, who was married seven months ago.

His wife, Lauren, has a sister who recently married a high-school teammate of Gage's named Adam Goodman, who walked on at USC and is now on scholarship there as a fullback. That means he might have to take down his brother-in-law when the Huskies visit the Trojans on Nov. 1.

First, though, he's hoping to shoot down some Ducks.

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