From now on, they figure, the answer to the question "Where is Louis Rankin?" will be a happy one.

"In the opposing team's secondary," they'll say. Or "the end zone." Something like that.

All too often last year, though, the answer was "standing helplessly — and mysteriously — on the sideline."

Finally unleashed Saturday, Rankin rushed for 112 yards against Air Force — the first UW running back to break the century mark in his initial career start since Corey Dillon in 1996. In doing so, he justified the faith of teammates who wondered all last season why he didn't get more time.

"I thought he should have been playing last year," said safety Dashon Goldson. "He was just as good last year. He just didn't get a chance to show it off. I couldn't tell you why. I don't know. That's a real good question."

Even in the Apple Cup, when all of the other tailbacks listed above him on the depth chart were hurt or benched, Rankin remained on the sideline. He carried just nine times for 35 yards all year and only twice in the last seven games.

"At first I was frustrated with it," said Rankin, now a redshirt sophomore. "I felt like I could really go out and make a difference, especially when we were losing games."

But the 6-foot, 195-pound Rankin also said that "everything happens for a reason."

And if the coaches were sending him some kind of a message, he admits there were occasions his first two years on campus when maybe he needed one.

"When I first got here, I wanted to do things my way," he said. "I wanted them to give me the ball every time."

A sign of growing up? "Probably so," he said.

But if Rankin wanted the ball every time he got it, those who saw him play at Lincoln High School in Stockton, Calif., say he had good reason.

Lincoln reached the championship game of the San Joaquin Section Division I playoffs Rankin's senior year "and he definitely brought us to that," said coach Mike Byerly.

Never more so than in a late regular-season game against rival St. Mary's that decided the San Joaquin League title.

The opening kickoff came to Rankin, who promptly ran it back for a touchdown.

On Lincoln's first play from scrimmage, the handoff went to Rankin, who took it up the middle for another touchdown.

And the next time Lincoln got the ball? Another handoff to Rankin and another touchdown.

Three touches, three scores — part of an all-time Stockton city-record 42 touchdowns for the season. Lincoln eventually won by a shocking 68-6.

"No one was going to catch up with him once he got through the line," Byerly said.

It had been that way ever since he was 10 years old and playing in Stockton youth leagues, a decision largely influenced by his uncle, Webster Slaughter, who was an NFL wide receiver from 1986 to 1998. Slaughter is the brother of Rankin's mother.

"When I was young I saw him play football, I saw the respect he got every time he came around," Rankin said. "So I decided that's what I wanted to do."

He wanted the ball more than receivers got it, however, so he turned quickly to running back.

Rankin, who considered Colorado and Fresno State before choosing UW, still keeps in regular contact with Slaughter, who watched the Air Force game on TV from his home in Houston.

"He told me there's some things I did wrong, some things I did good," Rankin said.

There was surely more to that conversation than Rankin let on.

But Rankin prefers to do most of his talking in private when around close friends. He usually keeps his answers to reporters as direct as the routes he takes to holes.

"He always had a great sense of humor," Byerly said. "We'd open up the locker room and everyone would be laughing at something he did. But the minute the coaches walked through the door, he clammed up. He's kind of a private guy."

He's also a different guy now than the one Byerly knew in high school, which the coach noticed watching Saturday's game.

"He's more humble now," Byerly said. "He's trying to move the chains rather than score every time. In high school, I think it came almost too easy for him sometimes."

UW's new coaches say they've seen the same change just in the nine months they've known him.

"What I saw was more patience in the fall camp and his play Saturday, which you didn't see in the spring," said UW coach Tyrone Willingham. "So he's continuing to grow, which is very positive. Hopefully [it's a result of] confidence and maturity, understanding our system and getting more comfortable."

Rankin started Saturday in part because Kenny James was injured. Once James — bigger, more experienced and maybe the most versatile back on the team — returns, which could happen this week, carries will almost certainly be shared.

But while he'd undoubtedly like a shot to be the team's first 1,000-yard rusher since Rashaan Shehee in 1997, Rankin said, "Whatever the coaches want to do is fine. I just try to go out there and play."

This year, at least, he's getting the chance.

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