The Washington Huskies have had their issues to start camp, but it's starting to look like they're up to game form.
Coach Steve Sarkisian seemed highly upbeat after the practice, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports.
"I thought this was arguably our best practice of camp up to this point,'' Sarkisian said. "Spirited, enthusiastic, energetic, competitive. The guys were battling, competing, big plays on both sides of the ball. So all in all I was pleased with that because I felt one of the things coming out of the scrimmage was it lacked a little bit of energy for whatever reason, so it was a point of emphasis for us and our guys responded to the challenge. It was great.''
Keith Price is also starting to round into form, which is important; when healthy and right, Price can rival the best in college football because of how well he fits into Sarkisian's system. Price apparently had one of his best practices.
"I thought he was tremendous today, really, and throwing the ball down the field,'' Sarkisian said. "I thought Kasen (Williams) was back looking fresh again, made some plays down the field. 88 (Austin Seferian-Jenkins) had a bounce back in his step there, so we backed off of Jaydon (Mickens) about halfway through practice and he was having a good one. Now is the time we have to get our bodies back to being right so that gameweek next week we are feeling really good about ourselves.''
If Price struggles with his health, though, it'll be important to figure out who the backup for Washington is. Sarkisian seems to be keeping mum on that situation.
"I don't know if I'm going to make one, at least for you guys,'' Sarkisian said. "I kind of don't have to on that front, not to be a jerk about it. But part of it is for our team and gameplanning and strategy wise. But I thought Derrick as I think the other two guys are, as well, they both did some good stuff.''
The best news is previously injured players are returning to the rotation, while players didn't get hurt at all. It's progress for a Washington team that needs all hands on deck for its brutal start to the season. Price definitely needs to get healthy, but everyone else also needs to be at full strength to handle the load.
Talk about Sarkisian with Washington fans over at UW Dawg Pound. Hit up the SB Nation college football hub for more comprehensive coverage of NCAA football.