All of that said, Oregon coach Chip Kelly isn’t really worried about the last game in the stadium. Kelly says he won’t use winning the last game at Husky Stadium as a motivational factor because he doesn’t like to talk about any outside influences.

Chip Kelly joined KJR in Seattle with Dave “Softy” Mahler to discuss playing night games, the health of LaMichael James, his trio of running backs, critical play in the red zone, freshman cornerbacks, the last game at Husky Stadium and the Pac-12 coaches being like a boy band.

Do you like these night games?:

“I hate ‘em. I’d rather get up and play. You sit around all day. Obviously we have no say in the matter … but they don’t take into consideration the fans that are actually at the game. When you’re done, obviously in Seattle, if you live two or three hours away, you’re going to get in your car and drive home at 11 o’clock at night.”

Where is LaMichael James health-wise?:

“Raring and ready to go.”

How do you determine which running back goes in at what times since you have so many talented guys there?:

“Our running backs coach handles the running back rotation. As the play-caller during the game, I’m not trying to think about [it]. … That’s the great thing. With Kenyon and with LaMichael and with DeAnthony, I don’t have to go, ‘Oh, he’s in the game. I can only call this.’ They allow us to call our offense so that we don’t miss a beat with whoever’s in the game.”

How critical do you think your red zone defense will be against Washington’s offense?:

“I think that is going to be a key matchup. … That’s huge. Can we make them settle for threes or stop them from scoring sevens because they’re such a diverse group on the offensive side of the ball. They’re really going to tax [our defense] and challenge them in terms of what they can do down there.”

Does playing freshman cornerbacks keep you up at night?:

“I don’t think we should be concerned. Sometimes I hear about those guys, but it’s not like this is the first game they played in. Those guys played against LSU and we’re eight games in. No one’s a freshman anymore. The only guys that are freshmen are kids that have sat for seven games, and then all of the sudden the eighth game, because of an injury or something, you’re like, ‘Hey, we’ve gotta go with this kid,’ and he’s never taken a snap.”

How much of a motivational factor is the opportunity to come up and close Washington’s stadium with an Oregon victory?:

“None, because we’re motivated to play in every game we play, whether we play in a parking lot or whether we play in one of the best college stadiums in the country. It’s us against Washington. If either of us get caught up in the closing of the stadium … that has nothing to do with the game being played. We try to always eliminate what we talk about as outside influences.”

Are you pretty good friends with Steve Sarkisian?:

“Yeah, and I don’t know if the Washington and Oregon fans can handle that. I’ll say this publicly, too, I really like Mike Reilly, which is crazy, because he’s at Oregon State. … And I think Paul Wulff’s a really good guy, too.”

Anybody in this conference that you don’t like?:

“No, and I think one of the things our conference has done is they’ve forced you, you have to spend some time with each other because we had to do those media tours in the summertime. I’ve said it before, but we’re kind of like a boy band. We have to travel together and we all get along.”

Listen to Chip Kelly on KJR in Seattle here

Jake Locker joined ESPN 710 in Seattle to talk about how he envisions he will perform during his Pro Day, what people will see during his Pro Day that he has specifically worked on to improve, and how his goals have been different for each workout leading up to the NFL Draft.

How he envisions he will perform during his Pro Day:

“I feel really good about it.  That is one of the advantages of your pro day because you get a chance to kind of determine which routes you are going to throw and who you are throwing them to and get a chance to work on it.  It is something that I think you should go into with confidence and you should go into with the idea that you are going to complete all of the passes and be right on the mark because you are confident and you have done it before.”

What people will see during his Pro Day that he has specifically worked on to improve:

“I think the biggest thing Brock is consistency.  There are times when it feels really good and at times it would feel weird.  The biggest thing we were working on is being consistent making sure that every time you throw the ball you have the same motion, the ball came out the same way, and your approach to the drop and the release was the same.  That was the biggest thing with Ken we just did it a lot.  WE threw a lot of balls, we threw a lot of routes and just made sure that depending on which side you were going to, all of that stuff, you were getting your feet in the right spot allowing that front should to kind of drive the ball to the top, were things that we really focused on to get the kind to be more consistent like I said.”

How his goals have been different for each workout leading up to the NFL Draft:

“I don’t know if it has been different.  My goals are like I said, go in and show that I am making progress on the things that people had questions about, and that I have had fun doing it.  I think one thing that I have always enjoyed about football is that I love playing it, and it is fun for me, it is an enjoyable game for me and I think that that passion and love for the game is something that you can show through that process and every step of it, and I think that was one of my goals always, and then the other one like I said, is showing that I had the ability to make the throws and be able to do all of the things that I would be able to do at the next level.  I had a really good opportunity to do that at the Senior Bowl, being that you are working for an NFL team staff, running their offense, their terminology, and throwing the routes that they throw, and then through the Combine, the game you are working with, NFL coaches and scouts and they are running me through the drills that they run their own players through.  So for me it was the ability for me to show what I would be asked to do at the next level in every facet.”

If there is any thought about maybe running the 40-yard dash again:

“Yeah I have thought about it, like you said, I saw a lot of the times and I think the time I was given was my slowest one, but at the same time, like you said, it is a good time, it is a time that is a fast time and I feel good with it.  Like I said, that isn’t something that I need to prove to people.  You can watch the game tapes and you can tell that I have had success running, and a whole lot of people talk about game speed and stuff being different, speed on the field, I truly believe in that.  I think there is a lot of guys that can go out and run a fast 40 but you don’t see that out on the field.  I did not feel the need just because the time I did put up and from what you can see on film.”

Jake Locker on 710 ESPN in Seattle with Brock and Salk (the interview starts at the 1:50 mark)

Locker joined 950 KJR in Seattle to talk about what he’s been up to since Washington’s Holiday Bowl win over Nebraska, how he hasn’t and will continue to not pay any attention to mock drafts, if his agent has told him which NFL teams might be most interested in drafting him, what aspects of his game he feels need the most work if he’s going to be successful at the next level, how he thinks his athletic running ability will translate to the next level, how he doesn’t care one bit that some draftniks feel his draft stock has fallen this past calendar year, and how he has no plans on pursuing a professional baseball career and instead has every intention of sticking with his goals of being an NFL quarterback.

On what he’s been up to since Washington’s Holiday Bowl win over Nebraska:

“Well I had a couple days that I stayed on in San Diego, hung out with my family and friends, celebrated the win, celebrated New Year’s. So it was a good time, really enjoyed it. And then the Monday after the 1st, I got back to town and flew out to Irvine on Monday and started my training down there at the training facilities down there with my agent. So yeah, I started right to work and kind of continued right through to this week. Now, this week I got back to Seattle to spend some time with Coach Sark and Coach Nuss[meier], do some work with them. So I fly out again Sunday back down to Irvine.”

On the process of signing an agent and building a team around him as he prepares for this spring’s NFL Draft:

“So I signed with David Dunn; they’re based out of Irvine, they work with Velocity Sports down there, so that’s who I’m working with down there. So I’ve been spending some time with Ken O’Brien, the quarterback coach I’ve been working with some there. Great guy, knows a lot about the position, and has really been a pleasure to work with. They did a similar kind of thing with [Mark] Sanchez when he came out where Mark spent some time kind of back and forth, spent some time with Coach Sark, to kind of help with the process as well. So I think that’s kind of the same approach that we’re going to take. So I’ll be back and forth a little bit, but yeah, just a lot of football.”

On if he follows mock drafts and where he thinks he might go next year in the NFL:

“Never. I don’t know, it’s just like everything else, it’s no different in my opinion than a newspaper article or your guys’ talk show no offense, but I feel I don’t have anything to gain from it. So I appreciate what they do for our program and for us individually, but I don’t think that by reading it or listening to it, I’m going to make myself a better football player. And it’s the same way I feel about those mock drafts — those people are good at what they do, they’re good at their job, they really are. But it’s not going to benefit me in any way I really believe, by following that and checking out the mock drafts that they create.”

Whether he knows which teams have the most interest in potentially drafting him at this point:

“Well like I said, it’s kind of just a grab bag at this point — people that might have watched the Nebraska film whether it was for me, or Mason or the couple corners for Nebraska, or whoever, just kind of in passing. Quite a bit of teams have talked to Dave, but like I said, it’s really early still so it’s kind of hard to tell where the real interest is coming from.”

On what parts of his game he thinks need the most work in order to be successful at the next level:

“I think just the fundamentals of playing the position, something that I’ve really been able to grow in the last couple of years , and it’s just something that I feel I need to continue to grow in. The footwork, the eyes through your progressions, understanding where your check-downs are and taking advantage of it. You know, things like that that are what make the great quarterbacks really, really good — just continuing to focus on that, work on that, and get better at that. The more comfortable you are with it, I think, the better you are. So I think through repetition is the best way to get all that stuff done.”

On falling short of the 60 percent completion percentage goal Coach Sark set as a senior season goal for him, and what he thinks he needs to do to improve his accuracy and completion percentage at the next level:

“Well I think when you look at it, it was really still only my second year in a pro style offense, so like I touched on earlier, I’ll continue to grow within that style of offense and get better and more comfortable with it. And with that I think will come more confidence and more completions. So I think my best is ahead of me as far as production within this type of offense. But at the same time, even though the numbers and completion percentage may have been down, I feel I grew a lot as a football player and quarterback this last year. And I think I definitely improved over what I did the year before. I felt a lot more comfortable, I felt a lot more confident, I probably threw the ball away a little more than I did the year before and didn’t force passes that I would have the year before. So like you said, the numbers weren’t obviously where you’d want them to be, but numbers aside, I thought for me personally as a quarterback in my growth, I thought it was a great year for me.”

On how he thinks his impressive running skills will translate to the NFL game:

“I think watching the NFL now, it’s something a lot of teams have quarterbacks that have that ability. And it’s just something that teams…not necessarily through designed runs, more so at that level when nothing is down field and you feel you have a seam, and the defenders are carried with underneath routes, and you have ten yards of open grass that you can take advantage of, and guys are doing it. You know, you watch Aaron Rodgers, you watch Jay Cutler, you watch Michael Vick, guys like that who are mobile players, create just one more thing that defenses have to account for. And I think whether you’re using a spy, or you’re using a book end and containing guys, it gives you an advantage on offense because they have to at least commit one more guy to you. So I think maybe not so much the running but the threat of it is something that watching the NFL evolve, is something that’s been incorporated by a lot of teams by I guess the quarterbacks they choose to play. So hopefully I’ll be able to take advantage of it the same way those guys have and use it to your advantage to improve the outcome for your team.”

Whether he’s paid much attention to those draftniks that have stated that his draft stock has fallen this past year:

“No, not at all, because they didn’t get to experience the memories that I got to this year. They don’t get to carry with them what I do now and I don’t think you can put a price on any of that stuff. I came back for a couple of reasons, and I was able to accomplish them all. And there’s nothing more fulfilling to me than that and be on the field with the guys that I was privliged to be on the field with. I’ll never forget that team, and I’ll never forget that year. So yeah, there’s nothing that would have not made this year worth it.”

Whether he feels satisfied with his career helping turn around the Huskies program that had fallen on hard times:

“Yeah I’m proud of what myself and the guys I came in with and that football team was able to accomplish. It wasn’t always easy, it maybe didn’t happen as fast as we would have liked, but when you’re able to kind of sit back and look at the career that we had, we ended up third in the Pac-10, we were able to beat Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl who like you said, at one point in the season was ranked fifth I believe and came up here and killed us. So I think there were a lot of things to really be proud of as a football team. Like I said, the memories, and you look at all the games and the fashion we won a lot of them in, it was crazy, it was kind of a story book ending for a season, and like I said, one I’ll be able to carry with me for the rest of my life.”

Whether he has plans to pursue a professional baseball career (he’s under contract with the Angels), or if his focus is squarely on making it as an NFL quarterback:

“Nope, I’m focused on the Draft and getting ready for that. I’m a football player.”

Listen here to Locker with Dave ‘Softy’ Mahler on KJR in Seattle

Locker joined 710 ESPN in Seattle to talk about his progression as a quarterback, particularly in terms of knowing all the nuances of his reads and progressions and options in Steve Sarkisian’s offense, how he’d rather win a Heisman than be the No. 1 overall pick, and why he thinks the Huskies can do special things this coming year as a team.

On being comfortable being in the spotlight as a Heisman front runner:

“I’m getting more comfortable with it. The biggest thing for me is that it’s just new. It’s fun, it’s neat to experience and not a lot of people get the opportunity to, so, I really do enjoy it. It’s just new to me and something that gets easier every time I do it. But at first it’s a little bit overwhelming. I haven’t done or seen a whole lot of things like that before.”

On his progression as a quarterback over the course of the season:

“I think that I got a lot more comfortable in the game plan understanding why we were doing what we were doing, understanding why we got in that set and motioned out, and what we were hoping to accomplish by it. And then being able to after the motion realizing what was happening and making the audible, I don’t know if I would have been as comfortable doing that at the beginning of the year. Just because I had things on my mind, the progressions, the protections, those sorts of things on my mind and the checks I could possibly make to give ourselves a chance to get that touchdown.”

On what his goals are for this coming year – both individually and for the team:

“As far as the team goes, we’d like to obviously make a Bowl Game. We’d like to find ourselves contending for the Rose Bowl at the end of the year. And I think that with that comes the individual stuff, the individual stuff will follow. I want to be thought of as a very successful Husky football team, one that puts this team back on the map and returns it to the tradition it once had. And that’s where my goals lie. All that other stuff – it will take care of itself if we’re able to accomplish those things.”

On if he’d rather be a Heisman Trophy winner or the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft:

“Heisman Trophy. Just because it’s a short list of guys. I mean, the No. 1 draft pick is as well, but it’s…I don’t know. It’s the highest individual award in college football. I love college football and everything about it, so to be able to hold that title for that year would be something that nobody could ever take away from me, and a memory that I don’t think could be repeated by a whole lot of things.”

Listen here to Locker with Brock & Salk on ESPN 710 in Seattle (interview begins at 2:20 mark)

Of course, Washington would not still be around had it not been for Quincy Pondexter’s bank shot with 1.7 seconds left in a tie game against Marquette – a game which the Golden Eagles led by 15 points with 15 minutes to go in the second half. Washington followed up that dramatic win by blowing out New Mexico, the Mountain West’s best, by 18 points. Now, the 11th seeded Huskies get second seed West Virginia in the East regional semifinals in Syracuse.

Lorenzo Romar joined Mitch Levy on KJR in Seattle to talk about how this Sweet 16 appearance differs from Romar’s previous two with Washington, the decision making on Pondexter’s game-winner, Marquette’s fool’s gold, Isaiah Thomas’ defense, and Bob Huggins.

On if this Sweet 16 appearance feels any different:

“I feel like this is a lot of fun, but maybe we need to win this one this time. This is something that we were hopeful at the beginning of the year could happen. Obviously, we took a detour. Once we got back on track and began to play together, we thought this could happen with our group.”

On decision making on last play against Marquette:

“When Quincy tracked down Isaiah’s missed shot, he had the ball and I looked at how much time was on the clock and I realized that we were going to get the last shot. I thought about if we should call a timeout. ‘Let’s see where we are. Are we frantic? Do we look confused?’ And we didn’t. Quincy ended up with the ball in his hands and about 18 seconds I thought about calling a timeout. At 12, I thought about it, but I saw Quincy get the ball and we could see our guys beginning to direct each other. They directed each other with Quincy with the ball in his hands in a flat situation. It was going to be the last shot. We had done it before. We did not want to call a timeout and let them come up with a different defense and take away our options. They didn’t have time to think. Quincy knew what to do with the basketball.”

On Buzz Williams comments that Marquette’s 15 point lead was “fool’s gold:”

“I think what he was talking about was that, ‘If we continue to play at this pace, Washington is more comfortable with that pace. We are not. Sooner or later, we are going to miss and they are going to come back.’ I think that’s what he was referring to. And that’s exactly what happened.”

On Isaiah Thomas stepping up:

“There was a spell where we got four out of five stops by turnovers, forcing turnovers. Each guy was taking turns doing it. Isaiah Thomas says during a timeout that he wanted Odom. He was playing well against us. We were having difficulty stopping him. If you saw the intensity in his eyes, you would have been totally convinced that he was going to do a good job. For the rest of the game, I think he (Odom) only scored one basket. That had a lot to do with our victory and a lot of people won’t give him credit for that, but Isaiah Thomas stepped up… Isaiah is a very under-appreciated winner. Sometimes, maybe because he shoots a lot, people get caught up in that. People don’t understand that he has won everywhere he has been. The look in his eyes, just totally convinced me that he was going to get into this guy – and he did.”

And on whether he will sing Temptations if the team makes the Final Four:

“Yeah, maybe not on your show, but I’d probably be willing to sing somehow somewhere.”

Listen to Lorenzo Romar with Mitch in the Morning on KJR in Seattle.

Locker’s father, Scott, joined 950 KJR in Seattle with Dave “Softy” Mahler to talk about the thought process behind his son’s decision, why he supports him 100%, and why how high he was projected to be drafted had no bearing on Locker’s decision.

On his son announcing his intentions to return to school for his senior season:

“Oh I think it’s great especially from Jake’s standpoint just so you know, the questions can be done and people can quit speculating about what he’s going to do. And everyone will know and I think it will be easier for him to focus on the task at hand getting ready for the season, with his guys knowing that he’s going to be back to help them get to where they want to be.”

On if Locker ever explicitly asked his dad about what he thought he should do:

“Basically he’s interesting in the way he deals with stuff because we talk of things and we each throw out our ideas of what’s good and it’s kind of a punch-counterpunch kind of thing. Never did he come right out and say what do you want, because he knows what my answer would be. He knows the answer to that because we’ve had that conversation before. Basically when it comes to the end of the day, it’s all about you and what you want. It does matter what I think, what your mom thinks, what anyone else thinks because you have to make the decision and you got to live with it. And I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll make the right decision, and he did, he made it and I feel great about it. And I support him 100%.”

On why Locker decided to pass up on the instant millions he would have earned next spring had he entered the NFL Draft:

“Well, I think it all goes back to – every time it gets to the subject of money, I tell people he’s not about that. I know it’s hard to believe when you’re talking millions of dollars, but he’s never been about that. When it does come to him, he’ll be happy with it, don’t get me wrong. It’s not as if he doesn’t want it in some instances, but it’s all about doing and being with your buddies. And you know, you can’t go back and redo college. You leave now and that part of your life is over, and I don’t think he was ready give that up and I don’t think he was ready to give up on the fact that he thinks this team has a chance to be really, really good.”

On if they knew where Locker was projected to be drafted:

“The evaluation hasn’t come back. They put in for it but it hasn’t come back yet. But that’s interesting you ask because that was one of the things I said, ‘you sure you don’t want to wait until the evaluation comes back. I asked him that this morning and he said that isn’t part of – it doesn’t matter where I would have gone. It matters what I want to do. And I want to come back and I want to be playing here, and I’ve decided that’s how I wanted to roll so that’s not part of the decision. So, you know, he stuck to his guns good and I’m proud of him for making the decision and sticking to it.”

Listen here to Scott Locker on 950 KJR in Seattle

On just how much media attention and how many questions he’s had to deal with personally since the big win

“Quite a few, and a lot of them are the same.  They’re very similar, but it’s great.  It’s great for our program, the exposure’s great and hopefully we can take this win, and learn from it, and then build on from it.”

On what it was like after the game talking to his team – many of whom had to deal with all the adversity of last year’s winless season:

“Well, there was so much elation. And not just from our players. From everybody involved in this thing.  From the athletic department, to our coaches, the players, to the fans. I think for me, finally getting in to the locker room and getting a chance to get my bearings. You know, I told the guys to settle down – there was so much pandemonium going on – just settle down and then we’ll talk here in a couple minutes. By the time I went to talk, to see the look in those kids’ eyes; the entire team was back up in that locker room. To see the look in their eyes – you could feel their joy just in the look in their eyes. And for me that was a huge moment because they deserve it.  These kids came to the University of Washington to win football games. They came here to compete against the best teams in the country and they got that opportunity Saturday night and they’ve gotten that opportunity in the first three weeks of the season. And hopefully they continue to get that opportunity.”

On keeping his team focused after his kids finally get a taste of some major success for the first time in many of their careers:

“It really is, and I feel like for me in going through is, even going through the locker room that night, I have to continue to coach them on how to even deal with this win, in that yeah, it’s a great win but we need to remain humble, we need to be smart with our decisions to night, you know, as they go to celebrate; how to refocus on another opponent because I have to remind myself that these kids haven’t dealt with big wins before of this magnitude. And so what it takes to get yourself re-focused so we don’t lose sight of you know, we got to play Stanford this Saturday for first place in our conference. And this is where we’re supposed to be so get comfortable in this environment and this is how you deal with it.”

Listen here to Sarkisian on KJR in Seattle

Nick had offers from LSU, Standford, Alabama, Georgia as well as his father’s alma mater, Notre Dame. In the end, he chose Washington due to his relationship with Sarkisian.

Nick was the 14th rated quarterback according to Scouts Inc. and has drawn many similarities to the way his old man played the game. He lacks ideal athleticism, and is considered a bit lean even though he’s only 17 years old, but has been commended on his leadership skills and his smart play.

While some would contend that his decision making might be questionable at best after committing to a team that went 0-12 last season, Nick is hoping to turn that record completely upside down, and help return the Washington Huskies to glory.

Nick Montana joined Softy on 950 KJR AM in Seattle to talk about what brought him to Washington and what he sees in the program moving forward.

On why he ended up choosing Washington with all of the other options out there:

“I just felt they had the best opportunity for me with Coach Sark (Sarkisian) and Coach (Nick) Holt, the whole staff he’s put together, energetic and everything. All they did was win and I know that’s what’s going to happen as soon as they can get it turned around, and that’s exactly what they’re going to do. They have a talented team there already that I think is going to surprise a bunch of people and as you can tell Coach Sark and his staff are doing a great job of getting new talent in for 2010 and doing their best with recruiting and it’s paying off.”

Nick was asked about the pressure that’s associated with being Joe Montana’s son and the media constantly asking him about it:

‘It’s hard for me to answer. My parents have done a great job in making sure there is no pressure. If there is pressure, I don’t feel it. I just try and go out and play and have fun. I’m sure he (Joe) gets a little tired of it.”

On who he thinks his game compares most to, and what kind of quarterback he is:

“A lot of people, including Coach Clarkson (high school coach) say I look a lot like my dad on the field, in the huddle and in the game. I feel like my best attribute is my accuracy and that’s what I pride myself on. That’s what my dad tries to help me get better at.”

Listen to Nick Montana on KJR in Seattle with Dave “Softy” Mahler

There's nowhere for Sarkisian and Washington to go but up

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Fran didn't inspire much confidence from the Aggie faithful towards the end of his tenure

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