Huskies found their QB in loss to Air Force

The Daily News (A newspaper up in Washington)
By Greg Johns
Here's something new. When Washington hosts 19th-ranked California this Saturday, the Huskies will have by far the better situation at quarterback.
Who'd have thunk?
Cal coach Jeff Tedford, the QB guru who turned down Washington's overtures last December, suddenly finds himself sending out a signal-calling SOS in Berkeley after highly regarded freshman Nate Longshore broke his leg in the Bears' 41-3 season-opening victory over Sacramento State.
After Longshore's departure, junior-college transfer Joe Ayoob went 0-for-10, continually throwing high and wide until being replaced by third-stringer Steve Levy, who finished 2-of-7.
Meanwhile, new UW coach Tyrone Willingham unveiled a remarkably made-over quarterback in Isaiah Stanback, who looked nothing short of sensational in Washington's 20-17 loss to Air Force.
While Willingham was muted in his praise for Stanback in defeat, there is no doubt the junior from Seattle shone a bright light on what had been a very murky situation at the center of Husky hopes.
Willingham didn't throw Stanback to the wolves Saturday. He came out with a game plan built on establishing the run first, allowing his quarterback to warm up with short curl routes and high-percentage throws.
But when asked to go downfield, Stanback revealed an extremely accurate arm with a 38-yard fastball down the middle to Corey Williams and later a perfectly placed ball to Cody Ellis on a 27-yard touchdown strike.
He rolled to his right and lasered a ball back across the field on a 13-yard out route to Anthony Russo. He feathered a 21-yard toss to wide-open tight end Johnie Kirton. He went start to finish with nary a turnover, completing 19 of 27 for 242 yards.
This wasn't the same youngster who hit just 33 percent of his passes a year ago and often looked in over his head.
"He was on the money," said UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano. "He threw a lot of good balls. That's one thing we have to do. When you throw the quick passing game, you have to be accurate because it's just like a run for us. It's a way to get 6 yards on a hitch. We took a number of those because that's what they were giving us.
"As we get more confidence and get better," Lappano said, "we might have to throw it down the field a little bit more."
Stanback threw only one bad ball against Air Force, a high riser over Russo in the second quarter. Otherwise, the junior known for his fast feet put on a passing display that opened eyes and quieted critics.
"Their quarterback," said Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry, "far exceeded our expectations. He has improved so much from last year."
"You can win with that performance," said Lappano. "He proved to everybody he can play. He's going to get better and better every week, and that could be pretty scary."
The best thing about Stanback is he's far from satisfied with Saturday's showing. There's more to being a quarterback than just a good arm. It is a leadership position and this youngster has what it takes there as well.
After Williams dropped a critical pass in the fourth quarter, Stanback pulled the sophomore aside and told him to forget about it.
"He was mad at himself," Stanback said. "We know he can make that play with his eyes closed. But I told him, 'What happened, happened. You can't change that. You can only influence what happens next when you have that opportunity.'
"I've learned a lot from coach about not dwelling on the last play, and I was just trying to pass that on to him."
Stanback always took responsibility for his own shortcomings last season when things weren't going well. He took the same tack Saturday, even on a day he could have been glowing about his own play.
"Truthfully, I'm not concerned with my success," he said. "I really could care less if I threw for 100 yards or whatever. As long as we win, I'm happy. Regardless of what I did or what my stats were, we came out with an L. Whatever it takes to get a W, I'm down to do it.
"There's always better reads you can make. Better balls to throw," said Stanback. "A lot of times my receivers caught the ball and had to fall down or got tackled, when I could have got it to them faster so they'd have time to make a play. That's on me. There's always something. There's no perfect game for anybody."
So there you have Isaiah Stanback. A year ago, his best weapon was the element of surprise, the quick feet, the scramble and run. But Saturday afternoon, he surprised us again. This time with the poise and accuracy of a big-time college quarterback.