UW Football | Huskies find playtime over

Washington safety Chris Hemphill became a starter and a senior all in one week.

Hemphill has been assumed to be a junior all season, having redshirted in 2003 and played the past three seasons.

But when the school sent out a release on Thursday of 26 seniors who will be honored before Saturday's game, the final home contest of the season, Hemphill's name was included. So were four other players who had previously been listed as fourth-year juniors, meaning they redshirted at some point in their careers.

The other four are kicker Michael Braunstein, receiver-returner Marlon Wood, defensive back Durrell Moss and offensive lineman William Kava.

Coach Tyrone Willingham said Wood has been inaccurately listed as a junior and should have been deemed a senior all season. UW officials said Wood began his college career at Alabama State in 2002 before transferring to Pasadena Community College and then coming to UW in 2005.

The other four, however, fall under a Willingham edict that fifth years are not guaranteed and are, instead, as he said Thursday, "an honor and a privilege."

"When we started our program we talked to our football team about the fact that a fifth year is not something that is guaranteed," he said. "You have to earn the right for that fifth year. That means you've got to be the player, got to be the student, got to be the citizen and all the things we've talked about in our program. Those are extremely important to how we move forward to our program."

There are 11 other players on the roster listed as fourth-year juniors who apparently are coming back.

"One of the things we always talk to our football team about is that as a fifth-year senior you have to be a leader, you have to be bringing this football team some leadership, and that's important," Willingham said. "So I will factor in all of those things in those decisions."

The two players who have made the biggest contributions of the group of fourth-year juniors who won't be back are Hemphill and Braunstein.

As is the case each week, players were not available for comment Thursday.

One source indicated that Hemphill and Braunstein want to continue to play football. They might take advantage of a new NCAA rule that allows players who have graduated in four years to transfer to any school and be eligible to play the next season.

Hemphill, from Gardena, Calif., led UW with 14 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery in Saturday's loss at Oregon. He was starting for the first time, because Jason Wells was out with a knee injury. And with Wells still out, Hemphill will start again Saturday when the Huskies play Stanford.

Before last week, however, Hemphill had not played much, making five tackles this year before Saturday and 13 a season ago.

Braunstein, of Gilbert, Ariz., has been the team's starting kicker all season and has made 9 of 11 field goals and all 27 of his extra-point attempts.

But the Huskies appear to have solidified their kicking position. Two Web sites reported Thursday that the team had gotten a commitment from kicker Erik Folk of Sherman Oaks, Calif., who is the younger brother of Arizona kicker Nick Folk. Also, sophomore Ryan Perkins is scheduled to return next season after missing this year with a knee injury, though Willingham said there are "no guarantees" that Perkins will be able to return. Perkins recently had a second surgery on his knee.

Kava and Moss have seen little action throughout their careers.

Players are eligible for a fifth year if they sit out one season somewhere along the way as a redshirt. Kava, Braunstein, Hemphill and Moss all were recruited to UW by Rick Neuheisel and redshirted under either Neuheisel or former coach Keith Gilbertson.

Willingham said there was a chance that those who still have eligibility could return next year, but that since it is unlikely they will, it was better for them to go through a Senior Day ceremony now so they can be properly honored.

Willingham said he has talked to each of the players in recent days and that none should have been caught off-guard, saying every player was informed when he took over before the 2005 season of his new philosophy.

"They were told from the time I arrived there was a change in leadership, a change in direction," Willingham said. "What we have always guaranteed our young men is that they will get their degrees, and we stand behind that 100 percent."

Willingham said he doesn't worry that not guaranteeing players a fifth year will scare off recruits.

"If we are recruiting the right kind of individual then they understand the parameters of the program," Willingham said, adding that he makes clear what is expected "from day one in the recruiting process."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Read his blogs on Washington football and basketball at www.seattletimes.com/huskies.