Huskies Divide Up the Roster for a Traditional Spring Game on Saturday
The NFL draft will be held on Thursday.
The University of Washington football team is way ahead of those guys — the Huskies conducted its spring game player draft on Tuesday night, with coach Jimmy Lake breaking up his roster into two groups, tight end Cade Otton's Purple team and offensive tackle Jaxon Kirkland's Gold team.
The two sides will meet on Saturday, with kickoff at noon in Husky Stadium, in the first conventional UW spring game in decades.
School officials have distributed a pandemic-restricted 9,000 tickets to fans for this two-hour event, and suggest that those without seats check back on the athletic department website on Friday to see if there are returns.
"This is what I've always wanted to do," said Lake, giddy while describing the coming competition. "I've always wanted to make it a game. I've wanted it to feel like a game for our players and to feel like a game for our fans."
This spring game will mark the end of 15 practices through April and into May and the beginning of what the Husky head coach hopes is a long-term tradition.
The Huskies have split up their coaches, players and football support staffs, and most players are healthy and will be involved.
Yet normal or past starters such as offensive linemen Henry Bainivalu and Victor Curne, and defensive backs Asa Turner, Alex Cook and Trent McDuffie, have been injured as of late and might not participate.
Lake said his team has great depth and as long as the player numbers are strong he'll host a game like this.
The late coach Jim Owens used to hold an annual Alumni-Varsity game for several years until NFL teams begin restricting former UW players from participating because of injury concerns. His successor Don James eventually converted the spring game into an intra-squad scrimmage and it gradually turned into heavily restricted competition under other UW coaches.
Lake wants to turn this back into a regular game-like experience each spring, initially attract a crowd of 35,0000-40,000, and he said his hope is to draw a sellout crowd some day.
"That's the goal," the coach said. "That's what's done in other places in the country Why not here in the city of Seattle, where I know football means a lot?"
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