Locker Out: What Happens Now?

Rob Moseley reports that Jake Locker is out this week with cracked ribs. Bob Condotta says freshman Keith Price will be the Washington starter. True freshman Nick Montana (son of NFL legend Joe) will be the backup, although Sarkisian prefers to redshirt him unless something catastrophic happens.

Price wears #17. A 6-1, 192 lb. dual-threat qb from Compton, California, he has 5 completions in 7 attempts, having taken a few snaps in five of Washington's games this year. As a high school senior, according to scout.com:

2,264 yards passing for 24 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Price, had a 71.5 percent passing average, completing 143 passes out of 200 attempts. He also rushed for 579 yards on 118 carries and 10 touchdowns.

In the booth for the Oregon game will be Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard, and Mike Bellotti, 12:30 on ABC.

Sarkisian and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier added a flysweep and a wildcat formation to the Husky offense this fall, to take advantage of the speed of freshman running back Jesse Callier. Callier, #24, 5-10, 200 from Downey, CA, has 48 carries for 240 yards, a 5.0 average. He played some quarterback in high school and has passed out of that formation.

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This isn't a development that Duck fans should cheer, for several reasons. Number one, you never want to wish injury on an opponent and a good competitor. Secondly, this makes the Huskies a wounded animal, and wounded animals are unpredictable. The Ducks were already a 29-point favorite in the game, and with Locker at quarterback, Alliotti and the defense knew exactly what to prepare for and had a good grasp on Locker's strengths and tendencies. Now they will have to adjust on the fly, possibly to a radical change in what UW tries to do.

The Huskies are likely to be inspired, and there's a danger Oregon's players could relax a little. The most likely possibility is that Washington goes to a mix that is 80% run and 20% pass, and that is a good way to attack the Duck defense. The Washington offensive line is physical and athletic, and the coaches will try to inspire them to take control of the game.