After eschewing both a full-time major league baseball career and early entry into this past April’s NFL draft for one more go as Washington’s starting quarterback, Jake Locker will enter 2010 with a rather modest goal for a Heisman Trophy contender.
Play one extra game.
As he made the East Coast rounds on the ’10 Jakeapalooza Tour, Locker spoke to ESPN’s First Take -- by way of the Lincoln Journal Star -- and said he just wants to get his Huskies back to a bowl game, something he has yet to experience during his time in Seattle.
“With the coaching staff we have in place, the system we have in place, and the players we have returning, we have a great opportunity to do something this program hasn’t done in a long time -- go to a bowl game,” Locker said.
“Experiencing that is something I wanted to do when I made the decision to come here. I think I have that in front of me this year. I’m really excited about this team.”
While Locker’s goal may be a modest one, recent history says it won’t be a matter of Locker simply wishing for it to happen or snapping his fingers and making it so.
The school has not been to a bowl game since December of 2002. They haven’t won more than five games in a single season since 2003, and haven’t finished above .500 since the year before that. Hell, they’re only 18 months removed from a 0-12 season that saw them outscored by an average of almost 26 points per game (38.6-13.4).
A second season in head coach Steve Sarkisian‘s system -- coming off an inaugural campaign that finished with a surprising five wins -- and Locker’s individual brilliance, though, could very well see the quarterback reach the collegiate postseason.