Jimmy Lake met with the media today via Zoom call, and we were able to get his thoughts on the upcoming season, and more.

Lake took a moment to congratulate and wish the best for former Husky receiver, Jermaine Kearse who has retired from the NFL, “I want to wish him the best (in his retirement)”, Lake said, “I hope to see him and his family at Husky games for years to come.”

Going back to August, when the team thought they were going to start on September 26th, Lake said they had been practicing, but after that was postponed they continued to practice for two-and-a-half more weeks, “After that expired we got some in and sent the true freshmen home”, he added, noting that veterans stayed and continued to lift, “The plan was to bring them back for school.”

School starts tomorrow, and the players came back last week.

The players did quarantine for seven days as well, “Now we’re off and running”, Lake said, and with 80% of the roster comprised of vets, Lake feels that they’re physically prepared to play.

But Lake had a huge smile on his face and he sat back in his chair and said “It’s like  we just won the lottery”, regarding the start back to football, “We’re so excited around here…we have something to prepare for.”

Lake likened it to the end of a roller-coaster ride and making that final descent to the bottom of the ride, “We’re fired up to get to play some football.”

Lake said the schedule should be completed and released “within the next five days”, adding that, throughout this process, there have been many discussions with the AD’s and the “Football Working Group”, “They reached out to us and bounced ideas off of us”, he said.

He also talked about the preparations that players, throughout the Pac-12 in general,  had to make in order to stay ready for anything, “The one’s who were the most prepared will be the one’s holding up that Pac-12 trophy.”

Extra Points

** Lake talked about two position groups that are the most deep; the quarterbacks are the third and most obvious, but the other two are the inside linebackers (who were young last year) and the defensive backs, “We lost Myles Bryant…but everyone is back and there some really talented players (coming in) who could be pushing…on special teams and in the back end.”

** On that subject, Lake said they do like to get young guys on the field quicker and it’s not only good for them, but also for the veterans.

** Lake said that Chris Petersen told him a long time ago that, when you’re a head coach, you’re a problem solver, “Everyday you’re solving problems”, he said, “That sticks with me everyday.”

** On Joe Tryon and Levi Onwuzurike leaving for the draft, Lake said he wishes them the best, but added that there will be no more players declaring.

** On Elijah Molden choosing to stay, Lake said that this is “Extremely important”, and that Molden was a guy who could have left back in the winter at the end of the season, “That’s how talented he is”, he said. Lake went on to say that Molden is an “extraordinary leader”.

** The team is continuing to do daily COVID testing, just as they do in the NFL, and this model is working and has worked successfully (up until now) with the NFL, “It eliminates contract tracing”, Lake said.

** On roster changes, Lake announced the offensive lineman, Cole Norgaard has retired, explaining that he’s been battling injury issues for quite awhile, and that he will stay and get his degree.