Fall camp starts for Washington

On the first day of fall camp a year ago, Chris Polk still didn't understand all his assignments or what exactly Washington coach Steve Sarkisian wanted out of his starting tailback.

By the end of the season Polk had figured it out, running for more than 1,100 yards.

On Monday as Washington kicked off its fall camp, Polk was sprinting around with ease, making sharp cuts and racing on the Husky Stadium turf now confident in his understanding of the Huskies system.

"It feels a lot different. A year ago today I couldn't tell you I knew all my assignments, so I'm out here playing a lot faster than I was last year, being that I was in here a year and know all my assignments, have a feel for the game, know what to expect and play faster and not second guess myself."

Now with a full year under Sarkisian as their baseline, the Huskies began their preparations for the Sept. 4 season opener at BYU on Monday. The nearly 2 1/2-hour session was crisp and energetic, with coaches bouncing around nearly as much as the players.

But unlike Sarkisian's first fall practice last August after taking over an 0-12 program, there were fewer questions and fewer mistakes, especially among his veterans.

"It's easy to say it was a much better practice this year than last year, if we had to compare," Sarkisian said. "But I thought our kids played fast. We were competitive. By no means were we perfect, but I just liked the energy they brought. For not having pads on it was relatively physical, which was good. And I thought it was efficient."

Much of the attention on Monday, and throughout camp, will fall to quarterback Jake Locker and his improvement in the second year under Sarkisian after deciding to return to Washington for his senior season instead of leaving early for the NFL. Locker was sharp on Monday, completing most of his throws during the team portion of the practice.

NFL draft pundits believed at the end of last season Locker would be a high first-round pick. He put those dreams to rest by coming back for one more chance at reaching a bowl game during his Washington career.

"We're comfortable with what we're doing," Locker said. "We're comfortable with our offensive unit and we're able to just go out and play and react.

Just as intriguing as Locker's continued development is finding out who will be his backup. Redshirt freshman Keith Price and freshman Nick Montana, the son of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, are competing for the spot. Each got about an equal split of reps both during spring practice and on Monday, although Montana owns at least one edge having led his team to a late score and the win in the Huskies spring game in April.

Montana enrolled at Washington during spring quarter in time to participate in spring practices.

"It's been a great deal of help," Montana said Monday, his first time speaking to the media after being off-limits during spring practice as part of Sarkisian's policy on newcomers. "Just being able to work with coach (Doug) Nussmeier, seeing how Jake does it, being able to go over the play for 2 1/2 more months, it feels more natural and I can try and relax now."