A feel-good hire

Whether it is coming from the 'Dawgfather', a senior-to-be offensive lineman or even a senior-to-be offensive lineman in high school, reaction to Keith Gilbertson's ascention to Head Coach at the University of Washington has been nothing short of effusive. Here's a quick sampling.

Former UW head coach Don James:

On attenting Tuesday's press conference: "You can tell it's emotional for me, because he's like a son. I had a meeting at 9 and changed it to 2. (laughs) I wanted to be here and to support him. I think he'll do a great job."

On events the past two months: "Loving Washington football and the University, you don't want to go through these kinds of problems, but we've been through them and you'd like to get over them and get back to the business of coaching and playing."

On what Husky fans should expect during Gilby's tenure: "There's not a lot of mystery to football. I've talked to a couple of other coaches from schools in the league and they just felt like the league is just not as intense or as physical as they had been in the past or some of the other leagues in the country, and I think all the coaches want to get back to that - get bigger, stronger and faster and play tough, aggressive football."

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Current offensive lineman Nick Newton:

On the news: "He's just a household name around here. I'm proud to have him as my coach."

On the differences between Gilbertson and Rick Neuheisel: "Keith Gilbertson is an old-school-type of coach, so I think we'll be just a little more hard-nosed and tougher to beat. "It's tough to see him (Neuheisel) go and I'll miss the guy but we just have to come out and play. There's really not a lot I can say about it."

On the summer events being a distraction to the team: "We've got Pete Kaligis and Steve Emtman running the show for us during the summers and they don't let us slack off one inch. We're working hard every day."

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Husky verbal commit Casey Bulyca:

On the news: "It really sounds good to me, but I want to find out about what the NCAA is going to do and if there are going to be any restrictions. I still want to be a Husky if things work out good and things seem to fit."

On what it would take for him to decommit from Washington: "If they were not allowed to go to a bowl game or lost scholarships. If they lost scholarships they wouldn't be getting as many good players."

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Husky verbal commit Ryan Bush: On the news: "I'm excited. Coach Gilbertson is the one that offered me and he's the one I wanted to see as head coach."

On why he chose UW: "I picked Washington because of the school, because it was Washington. And I really like Coach (Dan) Cozzetto and Coach (Randy) Hart a lot."