Football notebook: Huskies remember Don James

When the greatest coach in Washington football’s history passed away last Sunday, there was no doubt the Huskies would do everything they could to memorialize the legend during their home game Saturday. They did just that. With “DJ” emblems on both 25-yard lines and both teams’ helmets, the UW football program paid tribute to Don James in spectacular fashion. Fans were given “DJ” buttons as they entered the stadium before the game, but that was only the beginning of the tribute. A large contingent of James’ family members, including his wife, Carol, and three children, was at midfield for the pregame coin toss. And the UW band had its flag at half-staff during the national anthem for the first time since the 10-year anniversary of September 11. At halftime the UW honored James with a video presentation on the big screen. It showed scenes from earlier in the day featuring a “DJ” flag atop the Space Needle as well as moments from James’ coaching career and life. The UW band dedicated its halftime performance to James. It was all part of a touching night to honor the man UW fans will forever remember as “The Dawgfather.” “It was a great night to honor Coach James,” UW head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He and his family and Carol deserve much more than what we could have even done tonight. But we’ll go out tomorrow and honor him again at the service.” There was a public memorial for James yesterday at 3 p.m. at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. James coached at the UW from 1975 to 1992, winning six Pac-10 championships and the 1991 national championship during his tenure. Kasen Williams injured, carted off field For most of the season the Huskies had been very fortunate in terms of avoiding the injury bug. Entering Saturday’s game, the only starters to miss time with injuries were John Timu and Dexter Charles. But that luck may have changed early in the second quarter when Kasen Williams went down with a left foot injury. Sarkisian said that after the game, Williams had a break and a dislocation in his foot. “It’s not good,” Sarkisian said. “He’s going to be out quite some time. Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with Kasen. Kasen’s a great kid: He works really hard, and he’s one of the leaders on this team.” The injury occurred on the UW’s first offensive play of the quarter. Quarterback Keith Price threw a deep ball in Williams’ direction, but the ball was underthrown, and Cal defensive back Kameron Jackson broke up the pass. As he and Williams collided, Williams’ left foot seemed to twist underneath his body, leaving the junior down on the field in severe pain. “If I would have thrown it further, he probably wouldn’t have been injured,” Price said. “It’s just a tough situation. I definitely could have led him a little more. And who knows, he could have scored a touchdown instead of getting injured.” He was helped off the field and to the sideline, but from there he was carted off the field with an air cast on his left leg. Prior to the injury, the 6-foot-2, 212-pound Williams had one catch for 21 yards. On the season, Williams has 29 catches for 421 yards and a touchdown. Last season, Williams was the UW’s leading receiver, with 77 catches, 878 yards, and seven touchdowns. Price plays — and plays well All week long, there were questions about whether Price would start against Cal due to a thumb injury that has been bothering him for weeks. Price answered those questions with a solid performance Saturday. Throwing without tape on his thumb for the first time since originally injuring his hand in the loss to Stanford, Price was efficient, completing 20-of-32 passes for 376 yards and two scores. He also ran for a touchdown in the UW’s 41-10 beatdown of the Bears. A week after completing just 16-of-39 passes, Price improved his consistency against a weak Bears defense that was playing without most of its starters. He hit Jaydon Mickens three times on deep-balls, two of which went for scores. It was certainly his best performance since nearly leading a spectacular comeback in the 31-28 loss to the Cardinal on Oct. 5. That night, Price showed his grit and determination in nearly leading the Huskies to a huge road upset. “I told Coach that this is the best I’ve thrown since before Stanford,” Price said. “I played through the pain, and it felt awesome tonight. It was probably about 90 percent tonight, so it’s healing.” Price said Sarkisian made the decision on whether he would play Thursday after practice. “Coach Sark sat me in his office, and he just wanted to rest me and see how I felt Thursday,” Price said. “Thursday was my test day, and obviously I passed the test.” Reach reporter Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @drubens12

Football notebook: Huskies remember Don James

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