Game Daily: Locker could be playing final game for UW Saturday

Dec 3, 2009, 12:00 AM

The Huskies have shown enough improvement this season to think that next year might be even better, and yes, Steve Sarkisian has won enough games this season to convince at least a large portion of the UW fan base that he was indeed the right guy for the job. But how much of that improvement will be undone if "do-everything" quarterback Jake Locker bolts for the NFL at the end of this year? That possibility is becoming more real with every solid outing the junior from Ferndale, Wash., produces, and his name is mentioned with Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen as being one of the highest-rated NFL quarterback prospects in the country. Mel Kiper, Todd McShay and almost anyone else with an opinion on the 2010 NFL Draft thinks that Locker will be a first-round pick, and either he or Bradford will be the first quarterback selected- - unless Clausen, also a junior, declares for the draft, too, which might move him ahead of Locker in some projections. It's pointless to ask either Locker or Sarkisian about it because neither are going to say anything one way or the other until the season is over. That's understandable. The last thing Sarkisian needs right now is a stay-or-go debate raging in the middle of his effort to make a strong closing argument for this season. Still, there won't be many in Husky Stadium on Saturday who won't be wondering if they're watching Locker play for the last time. A question about that at Monday's press conference was met with a response of, "I'm not worried about that," from Locker, who insisted that neither he nor his teammates are thinking about who's going to be under center next season. "They're just like me," Locker said. "We have one game left in the season, and that's what is important to this football team. That's what's important to all of us, and that's what we're going to focus on this Saturday." With Locker next year, the Huskies would likely be expected to notch a winning record and make it to a bowl game, especially given the somewhat easier non-conference schedule. Without him, Ronnie Fouch would probably be the guy, something that would make most Husky fans somewhat uneasy. Fouch played out the final eight games of the 2008 season after Locker broke his thumb and was, well, not very good. But the reality is that Fouch might be the starter come Sept. 4 next year against BYU. "We've got to coach really well, get our guys ready," Sarkisian said, answering a question about what life without Locker would be like. "We've got two scholarship QBs outside of Jake on our roster, Ronnie Fouch and Keith Price, and we've got to recruit some young men here that can help build this program in the future." The biggest thing that would keep Locker in Seattle, likely, is simply that he hasn't won anything in his time at the UW, and he's enough of a competitor that something like that could weigh heavily on him. "That's something that will definitely go in to the decision-making process and something that we'll definitely look at, like I said, when this season's over," Locker said. That time is almost here. Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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