SEATTLE -- Sure, time heals, but only gradually. And sometimes its greatest value is in gaining space from the worst memories.
Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian, for instance, previewed the 2011 season for more than half an hour Monday, and the phrase "0-12" was uttered just once.
That was the woeful, winless, rock-bottom season of 2008 under Tyrone Willingham, and since then Sarkisian and his staff have lifted the Huskies off the mat with successive five- and seven-win seasons, rendering that hideous autumn a distant memory -- but still not totally irrelevant.
"You don't want to ever forget where we came from and how much time and effort and blood and sweat and tears it took to get where we are," Sarkisian said. "And yet we don't dwell on the past, we learn from ourselves ... our mistakes, our successes, and then we grow. Change is inevitable; you're either getting better or you're getting worse. Fortunately, over the two-year period ... we've progressively gotten better as a program and that's the path we want to remain on."
The Huskies started fall camp Monday in preparation for the Sept. 3 season opener against Eastern Washington, and the 12-game schedule that marks the debut of the newly configured Pacific-12 Conference.
Sarkisian said he has thought back to his first practices with the Huskies, and he now sees this as a team of his own construction.
"The bulk of this team are guys we recruited, who have grown up in this culture and these schemes and systems and philosophies," he said. "It's been very encouraging because you're starting to hear players speak the 'language' -- this is what you want, this is what we believe, this is what we're doing."
An obvious angle for 2011 is that this is Sarkisian's first season without Jake Locker at quarterback. Sarkisian dutifully expressed his love and admiration for Locker, and again sent best wishes for his NFL career, but reminded us that "... he doesn't get to play for us anymore."
But some other talented players do. Running back Chris Polk, Sarkisian said, had his best and healthiest offseason ever. And while sophomore quarterback Keith Price has yet to prove himself, the Huskies welcome a pair of freshmen who will make Price look pretty good.
Gig Harbor High tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who took part in spring drills as an early-admit, is one of the key newcomers, and Skyline receiver Kasen Williams is another.
"I expect them to flash and do some things that wow people because they're that talented," Sarkisian said.
Williams was the national player of the year, and at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, he has the gift of flight. At Skyline, he high jumped 6-10, long jumped 24-5 1/4 and triple jumped 50-9 1/4 -- all good for state titles.
Seferian-Jenkins "is as talented physically as I've ever coached at that position," Sarkisian said.
The job now, he said, is to develop the team's "mindset and personality."
And a large part of that is the responsibility of the veterans, the guys who have lived through the dark days.
"We're really mentally tough," Sarkisian said. "That was something that took time. We inherited a group that was pretty fragile -- we showed that the first year and a half. It's not always about how physically tough you are but how mentally tough you are."
The payoff started late last season when the Huskies won their last four games, including the Holiday Bowl.
"That's really something we can build upon and carry with us," Sarkisian said. "And hopefully (we) teach our young players that this is who we are and that's what Husky football is about."
Dave Boling: 253-597-8440 dave.bolingthenewstribune.com
