Washington arriving ahead of schedule, but may not be ready for prime time

Jul 28, 2016

There are many reasons to smirk at the “Washington Huskies are back!” narrative. Start with the obvious: The Huskies went 7-6 last year, a record they’ve recorded four times over the past six years and one that earned former coach Steve Sarkisian the mocking title of “Seven-win Steve/Sark” before he went 9-4 in 2013 and bolted for his ill-fated tenure with the USC Trojans.

Further, there’s predictable talk of “culture change” under third-year coach Chris Petersen, a hackneyed term volunteered just about every time a college football program changes head coaches. The new coach brings in “discipline” and an “attention to detail” that was previously lacking. The new coach will create a “family atmosphere.” Offseason workouts will invariably become the most challenging and best attended in the history of the game.

If you are skeptical, you are not alone. In fact, count Petersen among the doubters. Or at least count him among those annoyed by the runaway optimism that seems to be building upon itself as a matter of competing hyperbole rather than something tangible.

At Pac-12 media days, after hearing his team was projected to finish second in the North Division, behind the projected conference champion Stanford Cardinal, he compared it to “the new Pokemon game that no one knows anything about, but thinks it’s really cool … that’s us.”

Clearly, Petersen was taking aim at the notion that his team had arrived as a bona fide Pac-12 contender.

Washington was picked to finish second in the Pac-12 North in the preseason media poll. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

“In some ways this offseason has been — I don’t know the exact word — comical? Frustrating? Ridiculous? In terms of what we’ve actually done and what people are saying that we will do,” he said, “because we’ve got a long way to go.”

Ah, but Petersen is bobbing and weaving a bit. There was a gleam in his eye and an obvious comfort while talking about his team. He knows as well as anyone that there’s a formidable foundation underneath the windy rhetoric.

The rhetoric that celebrates Petersen’s “culture change” taking root doesn’t actually feel that windy any longer. The distinctive features he has installed come up over and over again in conversation with players and coaches. There’s “Commitment Time” and “OKGs” (Our Kind of Guys) and “Real Life Wednesday.” Tight end Darrell Daniels holds up his hand with thumb and index finger half an inch apart when asked to imitate Petersen.

“He does this, ‘It’s the little …

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