The Morning Haul: 8/8

Today I will watch a football game. Sure, it will be a preseason Seahawks game, but in some way it feels like a serious step closer to the first college football game on the 31st. Fall Camp is in full swing on Montlake, and it’s simply starting to feel like football season. Perhaps my favorite time of the year.

Stories Especially Worth Reading:

Ted Miller over at the Pac-12 Blog has a season preview up for Washington. He pretty much covers all the bases. Damore’ea Stringfellow as a freshman to watch, replacing Trufant as the biggest concern, the opener against Boise State and road stretch against Arizona, Oregon, and Stanford the most important periods in the season.

Also from the Pac-12 Blog and Ted Miller, a look at the punting situation of the Pac-12 teams. Washington is correctly placed under “We’ll see.” Special teams, specifically punting and kicking, are actually a concern on this team that hasn’t been discussed much during the off season.

Super helpful Scholarship Chart from Anthony Cassino and the UW Dawg Pound. One thing that jumps out right away: how few seniors the Huskies will lose after this season. Keith Price and Sean Parker are the only guaranteed starters in the bunch, with Greg Ducre, Will Shamburger, Travis Coons, and Princeton Fuimaono likely to contribute or start as well. Replacing a starting quarterback is a serious undertaking, but beyond that 2014 should be a stacked team.

A fantastic Gregg Bell story about a now-healthy Deontae Cooper. If this kid touches the ball in the season opener, it will be one of my happiest moment as a Husky.