Dennison steps in for Savannah

Huskies footbalL: Star linebacker out, but UW can turn to a distinguished player

RYAN DIVISH; The News Tribune | • Published November 04, 2009

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Normally, the loss of a senior linebacker for any period of time is not ideal for a defense. And definitely not for a defense ranked ninth in the Pacific-10 Conference in both points allowed and rushing yardage allowed.

Yet there seems to be little panicking by the Washington Huskies’ defense this week.

Yes, E.J. Savannah will miss Saturday’s game against UCLA in Los Angeles because of surgery to repair a broken thumb. Yes, Savannah is a senior with plenty of experience.

But are the Huskies panicking? Not in the least.

Sophomore linebacker Cort Dennison will step into Savannah’s spot and start against the Bruins. And it won’t be the first start of Dennison’s career – or this season.

The Salt Lake City native made his first start against Notre Dame, when Savannah was out with plantar fasciitis.

In that game, Dennison racked up eight tackles, including a sack and another tackle for a loss.

Perhaps that’s why he seems relatively ambivalent about starting this weekend. He started and flourished in Notre Dame Stadium against a nationally ranked Irish team, featuring a yard-producing, point-scoring offense.

Obviously, he can handle going to the Rose Bowl and facing the Bruins (3-5 overall 0-5 Pac-10), who feature the league’s second-to-worst offense.

“I’ve gotten one start, so it’s not like it’s my first time,” Dennison said. “Basically, I just have to go out and play ball.”

Dennison has played in all eight games this season, spending time at linebacker and on special teams. He played in 10 games last season, mostly on special teams, as a redshirt freshman. Eighteen games of experience makes him a veteran in comparison to some of his defensive teammates.

“He’s seen a lot of time,” Huskies defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. “He’s done a great job all year. I count on him.”

Dennison has 25 tackles, three for lost yardage, this season. While he may not have Savannah’s speed or athleticism, he plays a solid brand of physical football, understanding his limitations and trying to make sure he’s never out of position. Dennison may not make the highlight play on defense, but he also won’t be on other end of someone else’s highlight play.

“Him and Josh Gage have quite honestly played really good football for us,” Holt said. “They’ve played in a lot of big games and made some nice plays. I trust those two completely.”

Boyles a ‘maybe’ to play

Much has been made over the past week about Anthony Boyles’ transition from wide receiver to cornerback. Some of the excitement has come from UW coaches, who were so impressed with Boyle’s size and speed on defense that the early talk was Boyles would play some at corner this weekend against UCLA.

Well, that may have been a little premature. Boyles still shows moments of great promise, but he’s also committing the mistakes inexperience produces.

So will he play this weekend?

“Maybe, maybe, you know it’s a long road,” Holt said. “You even kind of wish he’d done it a long time ago. If he can get in and do some good things, all the power to him.”

A ringing endorsement?

“It’s hard to throw a guy in a game with live bullets and expect to him play well,” Holt said. “We’ll have to keep it very simple, that’s for sure.”

Logan at linebacker?

Like Boyles, sophomore Alvin Logan is in the midst of a position switch – from safety to linebacker.

“It’s one of those where we should have probably done it a while ago,” Holt said. “Is it going to help us right now, this minute in a game? Don’t know that. But in the future it will.”

Logan arrived at UW as a wide receiver, even recording six catches for 58 yards and playing in all 12 games last season. He was switched to safety in fall camp and a knee injury slowed his progress.

Holt thinks moving Logan to linebacker will bring some speed to the unit, and at 6-2, 219 pounds, he has enough size to play the position.

Extra points

Jake Locker participated fully in practice, taking his usual number of repetitions with the first team offense. He looked sharp with his passes, completing a pair of nice long passes to Jermaine Kearse and James Johnson. …

Defensive lineman Cameron Elisara still hasn’t been cleared from his neck stinger and didn’t practice. …

Defensive end Everette Thompson missed practice because of the flu.

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483

ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com