This Saturday in the Apple Cup Jake Locker must perform as his entire UW football legacy may be measured by whether he leads the team to a bowl or not. Of course, that is the same thing everyone said about the Cal game, and about the UCLA game. As with any time Jake Locker has had his back against the wall, I expect he will deliver the performance needed to secure a win and lead the team to their first bowl game in far too long.
Though Jake Locker’s season has not lived up to the hype of someone who would have been the #1 NFL draft pick if he came out last year, there’s one thing Jake has shown, which will likely make him a top prospect: absolute resiliency and ability to perform under pressure.
Looking at this season alone, Jake has lead several last minute drives to win close games.
On October 2nd, Jake lead the huskies to a 32-31 win over USC (now #18). Two weeks later, he led the Huskies to a 35-34 win in double overtime. Then at Cal on November 27th, Locker lead the Huskies to a 16-13 win and a last-minute touchdown scoring drive.
Locker has lead the Huskies to a win in all close games this season. He did it in past seasons as well. Most notable would be the 16-13 USC win in 2009 or the 36-33 win against Arizona, or how about the BYU game where Jake lead the team on an amazing game-tying drive where the refs basically handed the Huskies a loss after Jake threw the ball up in the air after scoring?
As Jake Locker continues with his back against the wall in a must-win game, there’s no other quarterback I’d want on my team then Jake Locker - even if he is playing with a broken rib. Even if the Cougars keep it close, Jake Locker will do everything he can to ensure a win and send the Huskies to a long-awaited bowl game.
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