Notebook: Sampson quits Huskies; switch is the last straw

Washington's Shelton Sampson, unhappy with a recent change of position from running back to cornerback, has left the team.

Sampson, a graduate of Clover Park High School near Tacoma, played running back the past two years and the first four games of this season before being moved last week. He played only on special teams in Saturday's 21-17 loss at UCLA and told coaches Monday that he was leaving, making it official when he didn't show up for practice Tuesday.

His mother, Rosalind Sampson, said yesterday that her son, "hadn't been feeling the love for the game for a while now with all of the coaching changes and everything," and that the position change was the last straw.

"It's too bad for them because they'll never know what they had," she said. "He has a lot of talent, but they didn't know what to do with it."

Sampson redshirted in 2002, then rushed for 274 yards with eight touchdowns as a freshman in 2003, gaining 131 yards in a win over Oregon. But he saw decreasing playing time last season as a sophomore with 189 yards on 51 carries and two touchdowns. He had just four carries for 20 yards this season and was listed as the No. 4 tailback when he changed positions.

Sampson was moved to the secondary last week as coaches sought a way to get him on the field and shore up an area thinned by injuries and academic casualties. He changed his jersey to No. 9 for defense and also wore No. 35 when returning kicks against the Bruins.

"It was embarrassing for all of us the way they had him shuffling in and out and changing jerseys... " his mother said. "They didn't give him a shot to show what he could do [at running back]. There was no love for [playing in the secondary] when he's been a running back since he was 7 years old."

Huskies coach Tyrone Willingham was unavailable for comment yesterday during UW's bye week.

Rosalind Sampson said her son will remain at UW, finish his degree in June and will run track for the Huskies this spring.

No change for Oregon game

Washington's game with Oregon on Oct. 15 will remain as a 12:30 p.m. start and will not be televised. Officials from both schools were negotiating to move the game to a nighttime start so it could be televised, but couldn't work it out.

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