Sports - Sports News

POSTED: Monday, Nov. 17, 2008

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Locker done for season

SEATTLE - Washington quarterback Jake Locker won't play in the Apple Cup this weekend and probably won't play again this season.

Locker, who suffered a broken thumb in the Stanford game on Sept. 27, had initially hoped to return by mid-November. And another step in his recovery passed Friday, when he had follow-up surgery to remove a plate that had been used to repair his broken thumb.

"Jake's doing fine," coach Tyrone Willingham said. "The surgery went well. He's feeling good about it. He's looking forward to a complete recovery."

However, Willingham also seemed to acknowledge that there may be too much risk and not enough reward to allowing Locker to return to contact as UW's winless season winds down.

"We don't know," Willingham said. "But at this time based on the information I have, it's probably not the right move to make right now."

In Locker's absence, redshirt freshman Ronnie Fouch is scheduled for his seventh career start and his first Apple Cup appearance on Saturday as the Huskies (0-10 overall, 0-7 Pacific-10 Conference) visit Washington State (1-10, 0-8).

For the season, Fouch has completed 99 of 227 passes (43.6 percent) with 11 interceptions and four touchdowns. He struggled through his least productive start Saturday in Washington's 27-7 loss to UCLA, completing seven of 22 passes for a season-low 39 yards with two interceptions.

"You learn from it," Fouch said Monday. "I'm learning from all these games, and learning from all my experiences. This game was a tough game, but I've got to bounce back this week. We've got the Apple Cup. It's a huge game for our team and for their team."

The WSU defense has been a miracle cure for many ailing offenses this season: The Cougars rank last in the Pac-10 in total defense, scoring defense and pass-efficiency defense.

However, Fouch has dropped to 10th in the 10-team league in pass efficiency. And Willingham acknowledged concern that Fouch's premature move into a starting job may be shifting from a positive experience into a scarring negative one.

"I'm always concerned about that," Willingham said. "... I think Ronnie's prepared for it. He's very much like Jake: They had a year to sit back and watch things. This is not a true freshman playing. So from that standpoint, I think it's been an advantage for Ronnie. But at the same time, you want the team to be playing well around your quarterback. ... That's probably the one thing we're not getting, and I think that does affect how he performs."

A flip side of the question was also asked: Will Locker's career development always be less than it might have been after losing an irrecoverable two-thirds of his sophomore season?

"Knowing Jake, I would say not," Willingham said. "I don't know a young man that is a harder worker ... the work ethic, he has all of that. But obviously experience is important and every bit you lose, it could have impact."

Notes

In other personnel news, Willingham said that cornerback/kick returner Matt Mosley is likely out because of a knee injury suffered in the UCLA game. However, defensive tackle Senio Kelemete is probable, while tailback Terrence Dailey and receiver Cody Bruns are possible. ... No UW players of the week were announced after the UCLA game. ... Offensive tackle Grant Cisneros of Sumner High School has committed to join UW's 2009 freshman class, according to Dawgman.com and Realdawg.com. Cisneros, 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds, is the sixth player to make what is considered a solid oral commitment to the Huskies.