Grubb Smart Enough to Know How to Deal with 'Genius' Praise

The Husky offensive coordinator is both amused and grateful by the player compliments sent his way.

Throughout each week of fall camp, the compliments keep coming. University of Washington offensive tackle Jaxson Kirkland calls him a wizard and the best-kept secret in college football. Running back Cam Davis describes him as a genius and a mastermind.

The object of this effusive praise? 

It's the guy behind the reflective sunglasses, gray-speckled goatee and thick playbook — Husky offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

He's been the main man given full authority to exorcise all the demons left behind from a predictable UW offense that stumbled from Seattle to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and turn it into something that has statistical teeth.

As for his growing fan club, Grubb seems amused by the growing  attention shifted his way and nothing more than that.. 

"They're crazy," he concludes. "Those guys are crazy."

Grubb also understands the underlying factors that might be responsible for some of the motivation in the formation of his instantaneous Montlake fan club.

"There's always the OC factor; I've known that for my entire life," he said, laughing. "Guys come up and want to give you a hug. You take 25 percent off of that hug. I got you. Seventy-five percent is real but the other 25 percent is I want the ball." 

Of course, these UW players seem to genuinely appreciate his presence and the prospect he presents of completely erasing all of the bad memories and frustrations brought on by the Lake/Donovan run-first offense that wouldn't turn over.

For that matter, Grubb understands the impetus behind their positive words and to that he says thank you.

"I'm only as good as they are," he said. "That's reality and I'm not just saying that, That's true. We'll all do this together. But it's humbling, I appreciate it [and] I'll take it."

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated

Follow Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven