It didn't work. I'm still pissed about Smalls.
But here are just a few things to think about. If one defensive player could make-or-break a team, then:
- Aaron Donald would've taken Pitt to the national championship.
- Lawrence Taylor would've taken north carolina to the national championship (yes, I'm going back a few years).
- Ndamukung (sp?) Suh would've taken nebraska to the national championship.
- Khalil Mack would've taken univ of buffalo to the national championship.
- J.J. Watt would've taken wisconsin to the national championship.
- Luke Kuechly would've taken boston college to the national championship.
- On and on and on.
I am STILL hopeful that somebody can offer Smalls some useful guidance and show him that his best chance for development as a football player and a man is at the University of Washington, and that he can still "be his own man" and "do something different" without having to leave Seattle.
But if we (sadly) don't get Smalls, then looking at the above list of names I know that UW's defense can still be championship caliber if we can continue to recruit strong across the board,[/b] develop guys like Laiatu Latu and Bralen Trice into stellar pass rushers, and if we can keep Lake, Kwiatkowski and Malloe in place for a few years.
This program can reach the highest peaks without one player. But if this losing stellar-in-state-player shit becomes a pattern under Petersen like it did under his predecessors (Jonathan Stewart, Foster Sarrell, Garnett, Banner, Taylor Mays, David DeCastro) then that's another story.
We better fucking get that JT Tuimoloau guy, or no long walk will help me.