2 Huskies booted
SEATTLE - Junior running back J.R. Hasty and senior cornerback Jordan Murchison have been told by University of Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham they won't have their scholarships renewed for the 2008 season.
Hasty is the son of former Washington State safety and longtime NFL player James Hasty.
As a senior at Bellevue (Wash.) High School in 2004, Hasty scored a state-record 50 touchdowns and was considered the top player in Willingham's first recruiting class with the Huskies in 2005. But Hasty's Washington career ended with only 18 yards on six carries, all last season.
After not playing against Oregon last Oct. 20, Hasty briefly quit the team, saying he didn't feel like he was getting a fair shot at playing.
Hasty says he was told by Willingham that "he kind of just didn't really trust me, I guess."
Murchison was a transfer from City College of San Francisco and was scheduled to contend for a starting job heading into last season. But he was suspended for five games after it was learned he was wanted on assault charges and also discovered he had been arrested for domestic violence. He played sparingly last season.
A Washington spokesman confirmed the two players were off the Huskies roster and said Willingham would have no comment on their departures.

I don't know the details, so I won't pass judgement, other than to say I commend coach Willingham for taking some action. Some athletes think that a scholarship offer is never revokable, regardless of what they do or do not do. Willingham has served notice that is not the case.

That's good for Willy, but it may be too little too late to try and show off a successful program that holds high standards for football players. Though i believe he's been consistent with players out of line

Coach Willingham has always impressed me as a person that carries himself with class and expects his student athletes to be good citizens in the communities that they live in. It must be tough to cut loose one of your signature recruits in the hyper-competitive college football scene, but Willingham doesn't seem to buckle under the pressure. Good for him.

That said, I hope we stomp the Huskies.

Knucklehead wrote:

Coach Willingham has always impressed me as a person that carries himself with class and expects his student athletes to be good citizens in the communities that they live in. It must be tough to cut loose one of your signature recruits in the hyper-competitive college football scene, but Willingham doesn't seem to buckle under the pressure. Good for him.

That said, I hope we stomp the Huskies.

That synopsis and Willingham's lack of winning records reminds me very much of Tom Holmoe's career as HC at Cal. The administration was still begging Holmoe to stay when he resigned. They respected the quality of person he was and the impact he had on cleaning up the football program. He felt it was time for someone else to take over to turn the Cal program into a winner.

Tom Holmoe has certainly been successful as BYU's AD. It's a case of the right man with the right drive, skills, and background being prepared for the right job.

Forgive me for not joining the love fest, but wasn't it Willingham who refused to vote us in the top 25 at the end of last year? I never could stand the cuss after that.