The Curse of the Left-handed Washington Husky Quarterback

Sam Huard soon will check in with the University of Washington football program, bringing with him all sorts of unique capabilities.

He's a 5-star quarterback, the first of his kind to pull on a purple and gold uniform.

He's the son and nephew of former UW and NFL quarterbacks Damon and Brock Huard, the first second-generation Husky player to call a huddle.

Oh yeah, he's left-handed, too.

While the player ratings and family bloodlines are things that easily can be set aside as distractions, the dexterity issue will always be there with him.

At Washington, being a southpaw makes him totally different.

It doesn't happen much in Montlake.

In the history of Husky football, Huard will become the fourth southpaw on scholarship who will call the signals and take the snaps presumably as a starter.

The other three had moments of glory.

Fun attached itself to this rare occurrence.

"I have no built-in prejudice at all — as long as he throws to our guys!" legendary coach Don James quipped of the prospect of having lefty quarterback Mark Brunell run his 1990 team.

Young Huard should come prepared for anything.

The lefties have had their fair share of disappointments, too.

It's as if there's a been jinx or even a curse that comes with being on the left side of things as a UW signal-caller.

Once he goes through college football initiation, studies the playbook intently and tries to act all humble and disinterested when asked repeatedly if he'll start right away, Huard should take a refresher course in the history of the left-handed Husky quarterback.

It takes adjustment on all sides.

"The receivers sometimes say the ball spins different and complain," Brunell, the UW's second lefty QB starter, said when he played. "I think it's funny."

For now, Sam Huard should find some lucky charms, tea leaves or whatever he can to keep himself focused and healthy.

Each of his lefty predecessors at the UW got tested in ways that seemed unfair at times.

Here's who came first before the new kid and threw with the opposite arm, and these are their stories:

Sandy Lederman

As the successor to the great Don Heinrich, a two-time, first-team AP All-American quarterback, Lederman experienced great highs and lows, if not unreal expectations. The California import was a sophomore when he ranked as the nation's leading passer in 1953, completing 92 of 189 passes for 1,157 and 8 touchdowns during those run-minded times. He got booed because fans wanted future pro Bobby Cox to be the starter and he broke his ankle as a junior in 1954. As a senior, he got suspended and reinstated by Husky coach John Cherberg within four nights for an attitude adjustment during the middle of the 1955 season.

Most of all, the man who wore No. 20 forever will be known as one of the guys who pushed all of Cherberg's buttons and brought the program crashing down. Lederman was one of the leaders who tried to get the coach fired and Cherberg responded by revealing a players' slush fund for all to see, leading to player sanctions, a coaching change and the dissolution of the Pacific Coast Conference.

Mark Brunell

Another Californian, Brunell burst onto the scene in 1990 and just missed doing truly wondrous things. The sophomore and his teammates had the Huskies ranked No. 2 in the polls and in the middle of the national championship conversation when they got upset by UCLA in their next-to-last game that season. The consolation prize was more than acceptable: Brunell led the UW to a decisive 46-34 victory over Iowa in the Rose Bowl, he was named the game's most valuable player and his team finished 10-2.

With nearly everyone returning the following season, Brunell rightly felt the Huskies had an even better opportunity to run the table and win it all. He was partly right. After having his knee destroyed during spring practice by overeager teammates, Brunell mostly was a spectator as he watched his replacement, Billy Joe Hobert, take over his team and lead it to a perfect 12-0 season and ultimate national-title glory.

Brock Huard

This Huard arrived at Washington with a glowing reputation that mirrored his nephew's. He was a national recruit who chose the Huskies over UCLA. A UW return to power enjoyed by the previous James regime was envisioned. Championships. Rose Bowls. Domination. Huard won the starting job as a redshirt freshman and teamed with sensational running back Corey Dillon to carry the Huskies to a 9-3 season in 1996. That was supposed to be the beginning of long-term success. It proved to be Huard's high-water mark.

Two things happened: Huard got hurt more than once and turned the team over to Marcus Tuiasosopo, plus rival Washington State and Ryan Leaf inexplicably rose up and went to Pasadena in 1997 for the first time in six-plus decades. His final Husky season in 1998 ended with three losses in his final four games, an uninspired bowl game against Air Force, a 6-6 record and coach Jim Lambright's abrupt firing. Huard passed up his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. The feeling was a lot didn't get done.