The University of Washington should be relieved that quarterback Jake Locker signed a professional baseball contract with the Los Angeles Angels because it could potentially free up another scholarship.
Locker, a 10th round pick of Los Angeles, confirmed Saturday night that he has agreed to terms on a deal and likely will receive a signing bonus. Because of that he will need to relinquish his scholarship to retain his amateur football status, giving coach Steve Sarkisian another coveted scholarship.
Locker said he will play his final two seasons for the Huskies and may pursue the NFL. Baseball, something he played in high school and during college summers, is merely a fallback.
LOS ANGELES -- USC was picked to win the Pac-10 football title for the seventh consecutive year by the media, and yet the coaches from all nine competitors -- including Arizona's Mike Stoops (right) and even USC coach Pete Carroll -- touched on the uncertainty of the Trojans this season.
USC received 28 of the 32 votes with California receiving three while third-place Oregon collected one vote. The Trojans will be breaking in a new quarterback and several new defenders since 11 players were taken in the NFL Draft. Perhaps this is the year another school emerges and takes the crown out of Los Angeles, but they approached Thursday precariously and with respect. There were no declarations that USC is going down or the reign is over -- not even from UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel.
LOS ANGELES -- Steve Sarkisian is trying to restart a winning tradition at the University of Washington and having quarterback Jake Locker will help that cause.
Yet, he realizes that Locker is such a gifted athlete, there will be other demands for his services, such as baseball. And Sarkisian said he believes Locker will sign a professional baseball contract with the Los Angeles Angels, who drafted him in the 10th round in June's amateur draft.
Locker, a rising junior, coming off missing the final eight games with a broken finger, is slated to start for the Huskies and finished 16-for-18 in the UofW Spring Game.
"Eventually that will probably get done," Sarkisian said. "He's been very patient (but) I think it will get done, a deal with Angels."
New Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian wanted to make major strides with in-state recruiting, but that campaign was dealt a blow Thursday when Skyline High School (Sammamish, Wash.) quarterback Jake Heaps announced his intentions to attend BYU for the 2010 season.
News of Washington's head coach search been crawling along the bottom of ESPN since yesterday. First it was Texas Tech coach Mike Leach withdrawing his name from consideration for the position. Then, earlier today, Fresno State's Pat Hill pulled his name from consideration. At that point, it was clear someone else had been tabbed for the job. That someone would be USC associate head coach and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
Washington's athletic director, Scott Woodward, had an impromptu meeting with the media shortly before the Oklahoma State-Washington basketball game. He neither confirmed or denied anything.
Once inside the workroom and surrounded by reporters, Woodward said, "We do not have an announcement to make. We're not going to talk about it until I have something to talk about."
Asked specifically about ESPN's unattributed crawl report that USC assistant Steve Sarkisian has been hired, Woodward responded coyly, "I haven't seen it."
Down in Los Angeles, Sarkisian also refused to confirm. He admitted to having the interview, but nothing else. It is expected that Washington is waiting until after the USC-UCLA game to make the announcement.
Meanwhile Norm Chow has to be wondering what it will take to get an offer with Lane Kiffin and now Sarkisian getting head jobs at BCS schools.
Jacquizz Rodgers, the 5'6" freshman running back for Oregon State has proven way too fast to catch, and too small to see for the Southern Cal defense in the first half as the Beavers lead USC 21-0. At halftime, Rogers shows 113 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. The rest of the Oregon State offense isn't too far behind him with 217 total yards of offense.
On top of the Beavers playing so far above their head, USC can't seem to get out of their own way on offense. And they aren't being helped too much by Steve Sarkisian's insistence on using gimmick plays like direct snaps to the running back on third an long situations. I've heard that Mark Sanchez guy at quarterback is kind of good. But you wouldn't know it when USC takes the ball out of his hands in passing situations.
With just 96 yards of offense in the first half, it's obvious that Southern Cal didn't come to play tonight. Oregon State has out everythinged USC to this point. Will the Trojans be able to overcome a 21 point deficit in the second half or will we see another comeback fall just short like 2006?
In case you thought that the USC Trojans weren't going to take the University of Illinois seriously in its Rose Bowl match-up, just take a look at what Pete Carroll and the Coaching staff did on their first day off after the regular season ended, according to official Trojan blog USCRipsit. Something makes me think that offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will be asking Oj Mayo to join him and his colleagues next year.
Media sources report that the Men of Troy were nonplussed with playing the Illini on January 1st, least of which is because it eliminates any possibility that they'd have to lay a claim on a split "national championship" should Ohio State stumble against LSU in the BCS Title Game. Thanks Rose Bowl, indeed.
In what had to be one of the slipperiest, most miserablest evenings of football in California memory, the USC Trojans turned to the run game to defeat the California Golden Bears in Strawberry Canyon, 24-17.
When USC receivers were dropping the slippery balls during practice, you'd have thought that Trojan offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian would have come up with a mostly-running game-plan.
After a back and forth game, USC had several chances to send their fans back to the warmth and dryness of their San Francisco hotels in the third quarter but sloppy play and an insistence on trying to pass the ball left the Beard handing around until the fourth quarter.
It took three quarters of solid running by Chauncey Washington before the Trojan coaching staff decided they should just hand the ball off.And hand the ball off, they did, giving it to Chauncey Washington 29 times for 221 yards, while quarterback John David Booty threw but 20 times for a mere 129 yards.
Steve Sarkisian used an age-old public relations axiom in guiding his debut as the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans Saturday againd Idaho: "Keep it Simple, Stupid."
Taking the reigns from Lane Kiffin, Sarkisian employed only the most basic offense to launch quarterback John David Booty's Heisman campaign. Sarkisian told the Los Angeles Daily News, "We had a game plan where a lot of young guys needed to play and we didn't want them to have to think a whole lot," Sarkisian said. "(Center) Kris O'Dowd, (wide receiver) David Ausberry, (tailback) Joe McKnight, (fullback) Stanley Havili, (tailback) Stafon Johnson, just to name a few. All those guys played their first games or got their first significant playing time."
Trojan fans are waiting to see how much Sarkisian remembers of Norm Chow's offensive strategy--that to set up the big play, you need to make the little ones--something that was lost on his predecessor Lane Kiffin. However, after a lackluster second quarter, Sarkisian looked almost Chow-like with his playcalling, using short, quick, high-percentage passes to build Booty's confidence in the receivers and march the ball down-field.
Notable highlights include great performances on the ground by running-backs Herschel Dennis and Chauncey Washington and some huge hits from the defense. Desmond Reed, injured by the ankle-high grass in South Bend two years ago, is looking better than ever and is being used in more versatile positions than last year--running and catching from scrimmage again, unlike in 2006, when you knew that Reed was the #1 receiver every time he entered the game.
Forgettable was the play of quarterbacks John David Booty and Mark Sanchez, who chased the record for most turnovers in the Spring game. Booty no longer has Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett on the field, so he has decided to lock in on Fred Davis and Patrick Turner--the receivers he has had the most experience with in practice over the years. Some things will never change--even if they put the shotgun to good use.
More pictures and more Song Girls after the jump...
The University of Washington should be relieved that quarterback Jake Locker signed a professional baseball contract with the Los Angeles Angels because it could potentially free up another scholarship.
LOS ANGELES -- USC was picked to win the Pac-10 football title for the seventh consecutive year by the media, and yet the coaches from all nine competitors -- including Arizona's Mike Stoops (right) and even USC coach 
LOS ANGELES -- 
News of Washington's head coach search been crawling along the bottom of ESPN since yesterday. First it was Texas Tech coach Mike Leach withdrawing his name from consideration for the position. Then, earlier today, Fresno State's Pat Hill pulled his name from consideration. At that point, it was clear someone else had been tabbed for the job. That someone would be USC associate head coach and offensive coordinator 
