COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Locker sets passing mark high

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Washington quarterback Jake Locker stated a startling goal so casually at UW media day this week that reporters asked him to repeat himself.

The Ferndale High School graduate was talking about his goals for pass completion percentage this season, and what he said was this: �I think 65 percent, that�s a good goal. Obviously, if you�re doing that, that�s completing a lot of passes. I think that�s a good number to shoot for.�

Some reporters thought he must have said 55 percent, which would have represented real progress from his freshman season, when he completed 47.3 percent of his throws.

But no, Locker said 65 percent.

And that�s aiming for rarified air.

The only Washington quarterback to reach that mark over a season of 100 passes or more was Steve Pelluer, who hit that exact figure (232 of 357) in 1983. Only two Huskies have even reached 60 percent.

In the Pacific-10 Conference last season, only Dennis Dixon of Oregon topped 65 percent, while four others reached 60.

Still, UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano believes Locker�s goal is realistic.

�That�s what we�re shooting at,� he said. �I know it�s spring football, but he did that in every (spring) scrimmage and the spring game. So, we can do that this fall. And he did it with guys who haven�t played. (Sixty-five percent) is what everybody shoots for.�

Accomplishing it takes a team effort.

Lappano notes that Locker will be working with unproven running backs, who may or may not be able to relieve pressure from the passing game. And he�ll be throwing to receivers whose talent may or may not outweigh their inexperience.

However, Lappano believes Locker will benefit from playing behind an offensive line that projects as one of the strengths of the team. If the offensive line lives up to expectations, it should provide Locker the time to progress through his reads, and the space to step into his passes.

And Locker himself will have to be more accurate more often.

�He has a tendency to overstride a little bit, and that�s when the ball sails on him a little bit,� Lappano said. �He knows that. He didn�t have a lot of that in spring.�

Locker also was exceptionally accurate in the first practice of fall drills, which was open to the media.

But regardless of what the percentages say in December, Lappano has reminded his quarterback that passing accuracy can be a useful indicator but a useless stand-alone goal.

�I told him the 65 is good and all that stuff, but really how they judge quarterbacks is wins and losses,� Lappano said. �Nobody is going to sit there and critique his efficiency when you�re winning football games. ... So I told Jake, �We need to win football games. Your job is to take us across the goal line.��

Extra points

UW announced Wednesday that the Sept. 27 home game against Stanford will kick off at 7 p.m. and be televised on FSN. ... The Huskies� third day of fall practice brought a couple of changes. The team worked in shoulder pads for the first time, after two days in helmets and shorts. And coaches also split the roster into two groups for separate practice sessions for the first time this fall. Coach Tyrone Willingham likes doing that because it allows for more individual instruction. ... The team will move to full pads on Friday, and Saturday will bring the first two-a-day practices. ... Willingham said he is happy that warm temperatures returned to Puget Sound this week, seeing it as an aid to conditioning. He added that he is generally pleased with his team�s conditioning, and singled out Locker, WR D�Andre Goodwin and CB Mesphin Forrester. ... Willingham said Brandon Johnson (knee), the top returning tailback, is practicing, but not yet at 100 percent.