Something to Prove : Washington Sophomore Steals Spotlight

Seldom has a sophomore defensive lineman made such an impact in the Pacific 10 Conference as Washington’s Steve Emtman made this season.

Emtman was named co-defensive player of the year in the league along with Darryl Lewis, Arizona’s All-American safety.

Emtman also became the first sophomore to win the Morris Trophy as the conference’s top defensive lineman.

That was particularly gratifying to Emtman because players participated in the voting. Yet, for all his honors, he ruefully acknowledges that there was a negative aspect to his season, even for a Rose Bowl team.

“Honors are nice, but I would gladly give them away for about four points against UCLA,” Emtman said.

He was referring to the Bruins’ 25-22 victory over Washington in Seattle on Nov. 10, when the Huskies were the nation’s No. 2-ranked team.

“I still can’t figure out what happened to us that day,” Emtman said. “I think UCLA was probably sore about being a 21-point underdog. I don’t think you can ever put UCLA 21 points down to anybody. I said that before the game.

“I watched film on them and they’ve got athletes as good as, if not better than, anybody in the Pac-10. They just hadn’t clicked together.

“We kind of gave them hope. We came out flat, and then they popped that big run on us (88 yards for a touchdown by Brian Brown in the first quarter). It was like they’re thinking, ‘Hey, we can beat these guys. They’re not so good.’

“In other games, we jumped on teams and shut them down quickly. And then we pounded on them. (Against UCLA) we got off to a slow start, and we hadn’t been shocked before. That was the biggest learning experience of my life.

“People saw that game on national TV, and that wasn’t the same Husky team that played earlier. If we had won that game, we’d be sitting No. 1 right now.”

As it is, the Huskies dropped to eighth in the polls, a ranking that Emtman said is not indicative of the strength of the team.

Emtman, 6-feet-4 and 295 pounds, grew up near Cheney, Wash., in the eastern part of the state.

His father has a cattle ranch near Cheney, and his grandfather farms wheat near Fairfield, Wash., about 45 miles from Cheney. Emtman said he worked both places while growing up. And with his rural background, it seemed that he would attend Washington State in Pullman, which is closer to his home than Seattle.

“I was real close to going to Washington State, and I really liked (Coach) Dennis Erickson, who was there at the time,” Emtman said.

“I was almost ready to commit there, and then I said, ‘Well, I might as well take all my recruiting trips.’ I had a trip to Oregon and Washington left and, at Washington, it sort of clicked for me--and the fact they’ve had great defensive linemen who went into pro football.”

Emtman was aware, though, that he wasn’t the prized recruit. That distinction belonged to Mike Lustyk of Bellevue, Wash., a suburb of Seattle.

“I really didn’t know him, and in high school he’s getting all the press, and that’s a big deal. I was highly jealous of him. I was just another lineman they recruited and he was the guy.

“In the back of my mind, I had to prove I could play. You know, the small hick from Cheney.”

Lustyk backs up Emtman now at defensive tackle, and they have become friends.

“He’s going to be good. He’s just taking more time to mature,” Emtman said. “There was so much pressure on him coming out of high school.”

After being a redshirt in 1988, Emtman got a chance to play the next season when Dennis Brown, now with the San Francisco 49ers, was sidelined for three games because of an injury.

“It was a different feeling then,” Emtman said. “The team felt that ‘We’ve got to pick up the slack for Dennis because Emtman is in there now.’ It’s not like you’ve earned the spot. Then this year, I tried to establish my own identity. Whatever I could do to help the team win was my goal.”

He has done more than his share. He led Washington’s defensive linemen in tackles with 55, of which 16 were for losses totaling 85 yards and 7 1/2 were sacks.

Washington Coach Don James can’t recall having coached a better sophomore defensive lineman.

“Doug Martin (an 11-year veteran with the Minnesota Vikings) might have been the closest,” James said. “I think Steve is ahead of all the rest of them.

“The word I think that describes him is relentless. He’s a relentless weightlifter, practice and game player. He goes hard all the time.”

That work ethic has helped the Huskies become the nation’s No. 1 team in rushing defense, giving up an average of 66.8 yards.

Emtman said that Washington established its identity in a 31-0 rout of USC in the third game of the season.

“That’s where it all started. We have a lot of guys on our team from Southern California, and USC was getting all the (publicity) at the time.

“It’s like a big brother always beating up on you. We prepared so much for that game. We weren’t in school yet and we watched films hour after hour.”

Emtman said the Huskies had the Trojans so well scouted that middle guard John Cook was calling out the USC plays before the snap of the ball.

“And I think we shocked them. Their running back, Ricky Ervins, came out of the tunnel, laughing and barking and all that. And I thought, ‘Who are you to come in woofing in our tunnel?’

“I think that game gave us a little more respect.”

Emtman said he’s enjoying his stay in Southern California with all the planned activities.

“It’s a reward for the season,” he said. “Still in the back of your mind is the objective of winning the game against Iowa, yet have fun at the same time. You have enough time to do both.

“Coach James says, ‘I don’t care if you go out and have fun, but I want my 2 1/2 hours (of practice).’ ”

Emtman said he expected to come to Southern California and bask in the sun by the hotel pool. Instead, he was greeted by cold weather. “However, it’s nothing like Cheney, where the wind-chill factor makes it minus-40 degrees.”

Washington is substantially favored over Iowa, but Emtman doesn’t want to listen to such talk.

“What does that mean? It’s not like they give you nine points on the scoreboard before the game,” he said. “I’ll never look at another point spread again after the UCLA game.”

Emtman is also aware that because of revised Pac-10 scheduling, the Huskies won’t play the Bruins again until 1993--after Emtman leaves school. “So that means I’ll have to live with that loss the rest of my life,” he said.