Hutchinson retains control of Stanford's shaky football fortunes

by Rick Eymer

Stanford football coach Tyrone Willingham didn't mince words when he announced his starting quarterback for Saturday's Pacific-10 Conference game at Washington State. "Chad Hutchinson will start," he said, removing any speculation that Todd Husak would be on the field for the 2 p.m. game in Pullman.

Did Willingham ever seriously consider starting Husak?

"No," said Willingham.

Did he even look at the situation?

"I did," Willingham replied. "When I looked at it, I felt the best situation would be for Chad Hutchinson to start."

What even made the quarterback situation a question mark in the first place was that Willingham replaced Hutchinson with Husak in the second half of Stanford's 45-21 loss to USC last week. Husak threw for 266 yards (18-of-36) and two touchdowns. Hutchinson was 8-of-14 for 75 yards, and the only points the Cardinal scored in the first half was on a punt return by Troy Walters.

"In many cases, the quarterback is often the victim of everybody else's play," said Willingham. "In other areas, we weren't as strong as I would like to have it."

Willingham said Hutchinson has given Stanford a solid effort all year.

"He has produced professional, winning performances," said Willingham. "There is always a continuing development with him."

Willingham said he talked to the team about it, even though Walters said he learned about Hutchinson remaining the starter from the media.

Walters did say he was happy with the decision.

"It's important everybody knows who's going to be the starter," said Walters. "No matter what has happened, he's always been positive. No one has lost any confidence in Chad. We've been through the whole season, from two-a-days, with him. We know what he can do."

Husak, meanwhile, did give the Stanford coaching staff something to think about.

"His play was positive," Willingham said.

"They put Todd in to see what he could do," said Walters. "We have two good quarterbacks. We found that out on Saturday."

So while Hutchinson gets the starting nod, don't be surprised to see Husak in there if Washington State pulls ahead by a wide margin, which could happen given the current state of the Stanford defensive secondary.

Cornerback Corey Hill hasn't been completely ruled out, but he's unlikely to suit for Saturday's game due to a big-toe sprain. His replacement, Mark Sanders, dislocated a shoulder and definitely will miss the contest.

"There are several things we will try to do to keep some balance," said Willingham. "We'll give (WSU quarterback Ryan) Leaf a lot of looks and try to find some pressure. He's probably the best passer in the league, and they have five receivers who are very potent."

Walters has been a bright spot for Stanford all season. Not only does he lead the Pac-10 with 72 pass receptions, but he only needs seven catches and 129 yards in the final two games to set two single-season school records.

"That's something to look at after the season," said Walters. "Maybe reflect that all that hard work paid off. I had a better season than I ever imagined."

Walters set a goal of catching over 50 passes this season.

"What I've done has exceeded all my expectations," said Walters. "A lot of it is lucky to have the quarterback look your way, and throw it to you. Any time you have a record it's exciting, but it's not something I'll harp on. Records are made to be broken."

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