Washington's Mason Foster seeks Pac-10 tackle title

This game is for Donald Butler and Trenton Tuiasosopo.

It's for a young and inexperienced defensive line, a much-maligned defense and a Washington Huskies football team that's had very little to celebrate. And this is for E.J. Savannah, too.

Mason Foster, UW's unheralded outside linebacker, wouldn't have a chance to finish his sophomore season as the Pac-10 Conference leading tackler without them.

"I can't just put it on myself saying I'm making all of those plays," he said. "It's the system. It's the coaches and the D-line taking on their blocks doing all the dirty work so I can come in there clean and make a play. A lot of credit goes to them."

Just 13 tackles separate Foster, who leads Washington with 92, and Oregon State senior safety Greg Laybourn, who has 105 to top the Pac-10 list. With a game Saturday at California (7-3), Foster could overtake Laybourn.

The Pac-10 determines its top tackler as the player with the most tackles per game. Laybourn averages 8.75 and Foster is at 8.36. Each has one more game.

If Foster were to record 14 tackles Saturday, then Laybourn would need at least 10 in OSU's bowl game to reclaim the lead. And Foster might not need 14 tackles, depending on how many Laybourn makes in the Beavers' final game.

"Mason knows what the number is and we're aware of it, but he has to play his position within the scheme of our defense," linebackers coach Chris Tormey said. "He'll have opportunities to make plays. He's had several games when he's been over 10. To have 14, it would have to be an outstanding day.

"The thing he has to be careful of is not to drift too far from his initial responsibilities and to press too hard. When you start to press, you can miss some of those tackles."

Foster is ready to play the game of his life. He tied his career best with 11 in a 27-7 defeat to UCLA on Nov. 15.

With so much uncertainty swirling around the team, he's hesitant to talk about his pursuit of the tackling title. When pressed on the topic, however, he says he wants this. He wants it bad. Finishing the season as the conference's top tackler won't erase the pain of this season, but it would give a little meaning to it.

"I want to look back when I'm 50 or 60 years old and tell my grandkids, I led that league once," Foster said. "It's just a personal goal of mine since I was in high school to be one of the best in the Pac-10."

In a way, Saturday's game at Memorial Stadium is the perfect setting for Foster.

He grew up and went to high school in Seaside, Calif., population 34,066, about a two-hour drive from Berkeley, Calif. Foster was a big Bears fan as a kid. He dreamed of playing for California, but the only major Division I schools to offer him scholarships were Washington and Fresno State.

"Being overlooked, man, that's how it's been my whole life," Foster said. "It's just something I deal with. My father tells me to take that and just use it as fuel to make you better. So if they're not going to give me the recognition, then I'll just keep playing hard and try to make them notice me."

At 6 feet 3, 235 pounds, Foster is an imposing presence.

"There's certain things that drive Mason," Seaside High coach Alfred Avila said. "He's the type that likes to prove people made a mistake."

Foster led UW in tackles in six games. But considering the Huskies allowed at least 27 points in 10 games it's no wonder Foster's accomplishments were overlooked.

"We really struggled, especially defensively, so it's hard to point to a guy and say he's having an outstanding year," Tormey said.

Foster's breakout season wouldn't have happened if Savannah hadn't left the team in September. When he walked out, the Huskies lost their defensive leader who racked up 111 tackles last season, the most since Lawyer Milloy had 115 in 1995.

"It was kind of bittersweet because E.J. is one of my real good friends, and I really looked forward to playing with him," said Foster, who started four games last year as true freshman. "When he left, I knew it was a chance for me to really step up and show everybody that I can really play."

Possibilities are endless for the 19-year-old and UW, which returns starting linebackers Butler, a junior, and senior Tuiasosopo, who has been awarded a sixth season. They might be the few gems, along with junior defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, mined from the wreckage of a defense that ranks 108th among 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

"I wish him all the best and I hope he gets [the conference tackling title]," Butler said. "It would be great not only for him, but for this team and this defense just to be able to say we had a guy who led the league in tackles."

Note

• Coach Tyrone Willingham said Thursday that RB Brandon Johnson will not make the trip for disciplinary reasons. He apparently has not practiced since Tuesday.

Staff reporter Bob Condotta contributed to this report.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com