First, he quit. Then, a few days later, never mind. Then he was suspended this spring for blowing off team workouts. And now, finally, it's over, and this time it's Tyrone Willingham's decision. Running back JR Hasty is now officially out of the Husky football program. Hasty still aspires to play football, somewhere, next year. Most likely he'll head to a lower-division school to maintain some eligibility. If he were to transfer to a D-1 school, not only would he have to sit out a full season due to transfer rules, but he would also lose a year of eligibility, meaning he'd have only one season left to play in '09.
While Hasty would have helped this fall, his departure shouldn't have a huge impact on the UW depth chart. Sophomore Brandon Johnson is currently number-one at running back, and there are several other young players at the position that will compete for carries this fall.
What happened with Hasty? Here was one of the highest-touted running backs to come out of Washington, a player who scored an amazing 50 touchdowns his senior year. He was the most talked-about recruit with Tyrone Willingham's first recruiting class in 2005. Blessed with decent size and excellent breakaway speed, many thought he could evolve into the next great tailback at UW. Yet his entire UW career is summed up with six carries for 18 yards? Maybe most of all, it was a trust issue between Tyrone Willingham and Hasty. There just wasn't any trust left in Willingham's tank after the various issues that occurred during Hasty's stay at UW.
Hasty has maintained decent grades, to the point where at least one option could be that he simply gives up football and becomes a full-time student at UW to finish his degree. Let's hope he's learned his lesson and is ready to get on with the next phase of his life.
