Locker, Huskies banged up

Turns out Jake Locker might be a little more dinged up than he's been letting on. Head coach Steve Sarkisian said yesterday at his weekly press conference that Locker suffered a quadricep injury on a big hit during the Huskies' second drive against Oregon on Saturday, which limited Locker's ability to run the rest of the afternoon. Locker will get a "pretty good amount of rest" this week because of UW's bye, Sarkisian said. Neither Locker nor any other UW players were made available to the media yesterday, a bye-week routine. "I just think overall, you take a pounding as a quarterback," Sarkisian said. "You play eight straight weeks of football, and that takes its toll on you. We'll take it easy on him." Locker's carries this season have been limited for this very reason. Sarkisian said he doesn't think his junior quarterback could have made it through the season uninjured if he'd been the focal point of UW's rushing attack, and the fact that he's still healthy enough to play may serve as a testament to Sarkisian preserving him properly. That's the way he tells it. "If I let Jake have 150 carries up to this point, he wouldn't have made it through two or three of our games," Sarkisian said. "And I don't know if we would have won three games up to this point." And keeping Locker contained in the pocket is what Sarkisian says will benefit both Locker and the Huskies in the future - though they do still call some runs specifically for Locker. "For us to continue to grow as a program, this is the system in place, and we've got a quarterback that no doubt can function in this system and be highly, highly successful," Sarkisian said. "Has it been perfect? No, and there has been a fine line of fitting him into this system but also taking his strengths, and playing to his strengths and implementing some of those things. ... In the end, the dividends are going to pay off for him and for this program. The NFL is going to come calling for him, and we're going to be a pretty good football team based on what we're doing with him." Sarkisian also has plans to give significant rest to linebackers Donald Butler, Mason Foster and E.J. Savannah, defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, tailback Chris Polk, and safety Nate Williams. CAST FRUSTRATION Savannah may be welcoming that rest more than anyone. He rebroke his thumb during Saturday's game and has three different breaks in his hand. "That thing is a mess," Sarkisian said. Savannah has been playing with one break or another in his hand for the entire season, and none of them are going to heal completely until the season's over and he has a chance to avoid contact for a while. But the only game the senior linebacker has missed due to injury this year was against Notre Dame, from a case of plantar fasciitis. Sarkisian just wants to make sure he can continue to tackle properly with his hand in a cast. "You've got to see how he can tackle," Sarkisian said. "Can a guy really tackle; can he get off of blocks when he's casted up? That's why we practice at the high level that we do so we can get those assessments done." ONLY THE BEST Nobody's going to accuse the Huskies of using patsies to rebuild their program: The three teams they've beat this year - Idaho, USC and Arizona - have a combined record of 17-5, three of those losses obviously coming to UW. In fact, the Huskies haven't played a team that currently has a losing record. Arizona State is the worst at 4-3. But they do still have to play the Apple Cup. PUT ME IN, COACH Sarkisian said increased rest for Locker this week means more reps with the No. 1 offense for Ronnie Fouch and Keith Price. "We're talking about a guy who hasn't really played," Sarkisian said of Fouch, who finished last season as UW's starter after Locker was injured in week four. "We need to get him more plays, and we need to get Keith Price more plays. He needs to play in our offense and not reading off a card." Sarkisian also said freshman Demitrius Bronson will be getting more carries with the No. 1 offense in practice and that other younger players will have a chance to get snaps with the No. 1 unit, as well. Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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