Good morning, Husky fans. For the first time ever, I’m posting this from lovely Snohomish, WA, rather than Phoenix! It’s good to be back home and I was nice enough to bring back some Arizona weather, apparently!

With the news of Bob Condotta moving to the Seahawks beat for the Seattle Times, Ryan Priest of UW Dawg Pound wrote a farewell to Bob.

Sadly, as the young inevitably discover and the old have already learned, all good things must come to an end: On Thursday, the Washington faithful’s beloved reporter announced that he’ll be moving his day job from Montlake to the VMAC to take over the Times’ Seattle Seahawks beat.

Good job, guys, you’ve made Coach Sark the most followed coach in the Pac-12.

At the time of Hines’ publication, UCLA coach Jim Mora was the leader of the league’s coaches in number of followers. But he’s since dropped about 6,000 followers (rough weekend), meaning Washington’s Steve Sarkisian is the leader.

The Daily released its Pac-12 baseball power rankings. UW ranks No. 8 (and ASU is criminally low at No. 5)

[The Huskies] won Saturday to clinch the series. The UW is now 7-4 over its last 11 games as the early-season struggles appear to be in the rearview mirror.

The Big Ten Network broke down Illinois’ schedule and said its toughest non-conference game would come against the Huskies.

The Huskies lead the series, 5-4, but the teams haven’t met since 1972, when U-Dub was led by quarterback Sonny Sixkiller and took a 31-11 victory in Seattle. Washington also won in Champaign, 52-14, in 1971.

 

Good Morning, Husky fans. I hope your May is off to a good start. Here is the first Morning Haul of the month!

Former UW recruit, Angelo Chol announced he will be transferring from Arizona. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise after a lack of production and newly added talent.

According to Mark Zeigler at the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Arizona sophomore forward is leaving Arizona and considering transferring to San Diego State. He starred at San Diego’s Hoover High where he became a four-star prospect. His final college choices included Washington and SDSU.

Quincy Pondexter gets a little love over at Grantland, with an interesting profile piece by Robert Mays.

Memphis’s advantages are going to be inside and on the glass for as long as they’re in the playoffs, but especially against a team that has the wing depth of the Clippers, Pondexter should have a role in how the rest of the series plays out.

SB Nation’s Matt Ufford writes a great feature on the Trufant’s, a family that now has three players in the NFL.

Whereas most of the houses on the block are hidden by hedges or fences, the Trufant residence is open, welcoming. The split-level is neither ostentatious nor modest, but the wide deck over the lake makes it clear that it’s in no way cheap. The house is filled with family photos, football paraphernalia and floor-to-ceiling windows on the lake side.

Lastly, Nigel Williams-Goss leaves Vegas in the classiest way possible, writing a column in the Las Vegas Sun.

Leaving this town is bittersweet. I am excited about starting college at the University of Washington, but I will always feel connected to this community. I just felt compelled to make sure I thanked all of you who supported me getting to this stage.

 

Almost the end of April! I can’t believe how fast this year is going by. Finals week is me for is this week, so posts might be few and far between, but I’ll make sure to get some content up you guys! For now, here are some morning links.

Jack Follman over at UW Dawg Pound takes a look at all of the Huskies’ draft picks in the last ten years.

2013

Desmond Trufant CB – First round, twenty-second overall pick by Atlanta

Trufant’s college career came full circle when he was taken in the first round by the Falcons who showed his worth by trading up to take him which makes it seem that they likely didn’t think that he was going to be around in the draft for much longer.

ESPN’s Kevin Gemmell sits down with Steve Sarkisian to talk everything from spring practice to ASJ to the new Husky Stadium.

With spring ball in the books, Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian took some time to chat with the Pac-12 blog about his impressions over the 15 practices, moving on without Austin Seferian-Jenkins and what it’s like to actually have a healthy offensive line.

Remember Josh Nunes? The Stanford quarterback who basically lost the game for the Cardinal last season? He’s retiring because of an injury he suffered before spring practice.

Coach David Shaw said before spring practice that Nunes suffered a “freak injury” to his right arm during a workout. Stanford’s announcement did not specify Nunes’ medical problem.

Finally, Martin Sondermann predicts the Boise State – Washington game to kick off the season.

This game is going to be a battle. Boise State and Washington both played a tough game in Vegas. The hits were hard, the speed was incredible and coaching was outstanding. Don’t expect anything different this time around.

 

Welcome to Day Three of the NFL Draft, the most prolonged event in sports history. If you’re tired of it by now, I’ll send some nice Husky links your way.

Sorry, still focused on the NFL Draft and Bleacher Report already has a 2014 mock up. Justin Onslow thinks Austin Seferian-Jenkins will fall to the Seahawks at No. 26 (not 32?!)

[Seattle] could still use another quality tight end to move the sticks, though, and Seferian-Jenkins stands to be the best in the 2014 class. He’s a deadly vertical threat who can help open up the first for Seattle’s explosive receiving corps.

Something has gotten into the UW baseball team recently. After winning two of three against Oregon State, the Dawgs swept a two-game series from Gonzaga. Last night, they beat Cal, 3-2.

Junior catcher Ryan Wiggins hit a two-run homer to start a four-run rally in the ninth as the Washington baseball team completed a two-game sweep of 21st-ranked Gonzaga with a come-from-behind, 11-8 win Wednesday at Patterson Baseball Complex.

After announcing the move a few days ago, the Huskies held their official press conference introducing Mike Neighbors as the new women’s basketball coach.

The Huskies didn’t interview an outside candidate, and the finalists included Kevin Morrison and Neighbors, both UW assistants.Three days after McGuff’s departure, Neighbors signed a five-year, $1.9 million contract to coach the Huskies.

Happy Friday, everyone!

With the news of Marv Harshman’s recent passing, Ben Knibbe takes a look at the history of Husky coaches.

Since [Marv] Harshman, UW has seen four separate coaches walk through the doors of Hec Ed with the title University of Washington Head Men’s Basketball Coach…With the recent passing of Harshman, it seemed like an appropriate time to look at the history of Washington Basketball by coaching era. Washington has had 19 coaches in its history.

As I am sure you all know, Desmond Trufant was drafted by the Falcons yesterday, but how did he spend draft day?

In 2003, the Trufant family held a draft party for oldest son Marcus Trufant in downtown Tacoma…Fast forward 10 years later, and Lloyd and Constance Trufant are doing the same thing today for youngest son Desmond Trufant, who’s expected to be selected in the first round of this year’s draft.

Percy Allen was at Trufant’s draft party and provides us with some video during and after.

It was a nervous and festive night for Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant who had to wait 2 hours and 40 minutes during the NFL draft before the Atlanta Falcons selected him with the 22nd pick…Falcons coach Mike Smith told reporters in Atlanta Trufant would compete for a starting spot.

 

Athlon Sports ranks the top 20 running backs in the Pac-12. Only one Husky makes the list, but he’s ranked pretty highly.

Leading the way is Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey, who should be a first-team All-American selection this year…Washington’s Bishop Sankey quietly rushed for 1,439 yards last season and could exceed those numbers in 2013 with more help from his offensive line.

Good morning, everyone! It’s a minor change, but if you didn’t notice, the front page picture for The Morning Haul is slightly different this morning! I made it more compatible with the site layout and changed up the details a little bit. It hasn’t been a huge news week so far, but there are some nice links to pass on.

For anyone who is interested in attending, Marv Harshman’s public memorial service will be held on May 11.

The memorial service, which will last about 90 minutes, will be held at the Marv Harshman practice court at Alaska Airlines Arena. A reception will immediately follow in the arena concourse. Washington coach Lorenzo Romar is expected to speak along with several former players on Harshman’s teams.

Bob Condotta lists his top-five “breakout stars” of spring practice.

QB Keith Price: Can a returning two-year starter really be a breakout player? He can if there is some thought heading into the spring that his job is in jeopardy. Price, though, quickly quashed any idea that there was a real debate about who would be the starter, with solid play from day one of the spring.

Finally, after winning their series versus No. 5 Oregon State, UW beat No. 21 Gonzaga on the road last night.

Washington (12-26) jumped to the early 2-0 lead off Bulldog starter Derek Callahan (2-2) in the first inning when Robert Pehl punched a two-out single to right field and Michael Camporeale homered off the top of the right-centerfield fence for his fourth of the season.

If you’re interested in catching up with the Pac-12 baseball scene, Bleacher Report’s David Bowers does a good job of wrapping up the race at the top.

With five weeks remaining in the college baseball regular season, six teams in the Pac-12 are ranked in the NCBWA poll and have a shot at winning the regular season championship…With a lot of work, some blood, sweat, tears and a pinch of luck, the Pac-12 could be the dominant conference when it comes to this year’s College World Series.

 

Good morning Husky fans! Anybody else meeting with the dean of his school to talk about a Seattle Times internship? I hope not (more competition!), but I hope something just as cool is going on today for you! Here’s your daily dosage of UW links.

ESPN.com’s Ted Miller continues to churn out some great stuff on UW, this one is concerning the improvements Justin Wilcox made on the Huskies defense and what the future of it holds.

With eight starters back and improving depth, as well as a year of seasoning under Wilcox’s coaching and schemes, Washington should take another step forward in 2013. It has two big questions: 1. Improving the pass rush…2. Replacing cornerback Desmond Trufant.

In case you missed it, Ohio State stole UW women’s basketball coach, Kevin McGuff, away. Here is Jayda Evans’ report on it.

At Washington, McGuff quickly signed talented recruits. In addition to Plum, McGuff signed post player Chantel Osahor and guard Brianna Ruiz for next season. The school isn’t expected to announce any more signings for the 2013-14 season. It’s uncertain if players will request a transfer, however.

Finally, Jon Wilner makes his (way too early) 2013-2014 Pac-12 basketball predictions. Spoiler: You won’t like what you read.

The Huskies lose three of their best players and are counting on a freshman, Nigel Williams-Goss, to run the team. If he’s as good as billed — the best prep point guard in the west — and C.J. Wilcox continues to score consistently, UW should be in the mix.

Today marks the end of the first full week of April: a month that, in its 12 days, has brought more recruiting news that the rest of the year has combined. It seems as thought it is slowing down, though. With basketball behind us, football is beginning to take over, as you can see from the past few posts and links. The trend continues today!

ESPN bloggers Kevin Gemmell and Ted Miller both “sell” Washington winning the Pac-12 North, but think it can win nine or 10 games.

We should have a good idea of things by mid-October. The Huskies should be 4-0 when they visit Stanford on Oct. 5. If they were somehow to win that game and improve to 5-0, Oregon’s visit the next weekend to renovated Husky Stadium might be the biggest thing in Montlake since … 1991.

Nigel Williams-Goss continues to rack up the awards, this time he has been named a Max Preps All-American.

The 6-3, 185-pound standout, who signed with Washington, starred in the McDonald’s All-American game last week (video highlights above) and will play in the Jordan Brand Classic on Friday. This week Max Preps selected him a first-team All-American. Williams-Goss is one of two Pac-12 players on the squad joining Aaron Gordon, who is attending Arizona.

Bob Condotta tells us about Alabama-transfer Travell Dixon, who is trying to fill Desmond Trufant’s shoes next season.

Dixon spent last year on the scout team, so this is his first time working solely with UW’s defensive schemes. He’s generally lined up with the second team, with senior Greg Ducre and sophomore Marcus Peters usually holding the No. 1 cornerback spots. Peters, though, is also being looked at as a safety.

After a few days of no Morning Haul, we’re back with some great UW football (specifically Desmond Trufant) news. It was a few days full of speculation, excitement and finally disappointment surrounding Aaron Gordon and we added a new writer, Paul Somerstein. You can read his first article right here. I hope everyone has a short, fun Friday!

The first and only basketball link today is takes an insightful look at the comparisons between Abdul Gaddy and Peyton Siva.

At some point in the past four years, the better of the point guards according to the scouts took a back seat to the one who was just “shaping up” to be pretty good. Most Husky fans have been asking the question: what happened? Why didn’t Gaddy end up like Siva?

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Mel Kiper has Desmond Trufant going in the mid-late first round in his latest mock draft.

In Trufant, you get a player who will make your secondary better regardless of where the needs are, because Trufant can do it all. Slot or outside, man or zone, you’re going to get an effective talent.

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More Desmond Trufant news, this time it’s a Sports Illustrated feature story.

Trufant is not far from the top rung of the ladder at his position, either, at least in terms of this year’s incoming rookie class. Buoyed by a 4.38 40-yard dash at the combine in February, Trufant now appears to be a safe bet to be a Round 1 draft pick later this month.

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Evan Webeck, editor of The Husky Haul, stopped by to answer a few questions for us about Desmond Trufant, as Buccaneer fans take a closer look at the prospects available in this month’s NFL draft. Take a look at what he had to say.

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Finally, Tyler Brett of Rant Sports speculates about the future of the Huskies secondary.

Senior Will Shamburger, who finished 2012 with 21 tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, has taken a large portion of the first-team snaps through the early part of spring practice, but he has by no means locked up the job for next fall.

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I hope everyone had a nice Easter and has a good week ahead of them, here is the first Morning Haul of April 2013!

Athlon Sports’ Steve Lassan takes a look at the schedule of each Pac-12 team.

 The first off weekend will allow Washington time to reflect on the tough first weekend and prepare for another tricky non-conference game across the country in the Big Ten against Illinois.

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However, in the aftermath of Drew’s decision to transfer to New Mexico, many reports surfaced citing his relationship with the former UCLA coach as the core of the problem. For obvious reasons, Aaron was unlikely to team up with the very same coach that butted heads with his brother.

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With no clear advantage there, it comes down to the team that will best allow Gordon to showcase his gaudy skill set.

Justin Holiday is being called up to join his brother on the 76ers.

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Holiday’s call-up wouldn’t even be the first sibling call up of the season. Luke Zeller, the older brother of Tyler Zeller, who spent last season with the Austin Toros, spent much of the early season on the Phoenix Suns.

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‘Morning, all. As Jesse said the other day, I’ll be taking over editing duties here for a while when he’s in Rome (who else is super jealous?). Anyways, something I enjoyed when I was just a reader was The Morning Haul, so whenever there are some interesting Dawg-related material out on the interwebs, I’ll be starting off your morning with The Morning Haul. Enjoy!

Former Seattle Times writer Mason Kelley sees big things in Marcus Peters’ future.

With Desmond Trufant moving on to a career in the NFL, it would make sense for Peters to take the next step and evolve into the “all-conference performer” coach Steve Sarkisian thinks he is capable of becoming.

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Washington features 20 returning starters with A-list talent on both sides of the ball. After three consecutive seven-win seasons, which have grown progressively less satisfying for fans, the Huskies seem poised to take the proverbial next step.

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Good Morning! (more…)

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Good Morning! Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! (more…)

Good Morning! Game-day, lots of Husky Basketball links. (more…)