Spectator Spotlight: Bishop Sankey

Last Saturday’s game was a tough one for Husky morale with a) the Duck’s crushing offense, b) another win in the pocket to add to UO’s nine game winning streak against UW, and c) making the Huskies’ win against Stanford a distant memory—sorry UW fans, I’m sure there’s no need for a reminder. Sark’s Huskies will have a chance to redeem themselves by shaking off the loss and focusing on the next game against the USC Trojans this Saturday.

While the box score highlights were dominated by their opponent, the Dawgs did have a stand-out player in Bishop Sankey with 25 carries for 104 yards with two touchdowns. For that reason, the sophomore tailback from Spokane, Washington is Spectator Spotlight’s featured player.

Sept 27, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Stanford Cardinal nose guard Terrence Stephens (99) tackles Washington Huskies tailback Bishop Sankey (25) for a loss during the first quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE

1.) Shoes to Fill
There have been high expectations for Sankey from the beginning, with comparison to his predecessor, Chris Polk, who tops almost all of the major records for UW football in rushing and who now plays in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles. But during Polk’s tenure at UW, Sankey was busy establishing his own impressive numbers at Gonzaga Prep, which earned him distinction as one of UW’s top in-state recruits. With accolades like all-time leading rusher for the Greater Spokane League with 4,355 yards and Male Athlete of the Year in 2010 for the Inland Northwest Youth Awards, Sankey was preordained as the future of UW’s running game.

2.) Dawg Days

During the 2011 season and Sankey’s first year with the Huskies, one of his best games was against Colorado where he had eight carries and rushed the ball for 71 yards with a touchdown. Other notable games for Sankey were against Stanford and USC with five carries for 31 yards and four carries for 22 yards, respectively.

In 2012, for his second meeting as a Husky against Stanford, Sankey impressed again with 20 carries, rushing for 144 yards with a touchdown – a new career high. With such improvement only one year later, Huskies hope that bodes well for Sankey’s second performance against USC this Saturday.

3.) Almost The Enemy

Sankey’s been described by Associate Head Coach Joel Thomas as “the quiet assassin.” But before Sankey formally committed to dispatching for the Dawgs, at one point he orally committed to play for the Washington State Cougars. At the last minute, he had a change of heart and signed with the Huskies. But Sankey shouldn’t worry about any backlash for what UW fans would consider momentary insanity – they can be easily appeased with one thing from him: contributing to wins, and preferably one against USC.