The Impact of Tripper Johnson

I realize that there is a tremendous buzz around the UW Football program lately. What with the big name hirings of Tosh Lupoi, Justin Wilcox and several others to the coaching staff. Oh yeah and Shaq Thompson committed to UW. As did Jordan Payton (son of Gary) (if only), and as I type this speedster out of LA Jaydon Mickens. Currently in the works on a “Mickens Mouse” shirt idea, will keep ya’ll informed. All this hubbub has prompted me for some of this:

Snoop-a-loop is for damn sure. Talking about the commitment of Thompson specifically, signing such a high caliber athlete at safety is a huge plus to a Husky defense that has, to say the least, struggled a bit. If that makes you nauseous, here’s a lollipop to make it feel all better. Link City is giving Rack City a run for its money. The point of it folks is that UW is making waves towards being a legitimate program again, one that it hasn’t been in nearly a decade, but the defense has got to get better before that happens. And Shaq Daddy is just one man, albeit a very fast and strong one, but his talent along with hopefully improved coaching across the board should be a beautiful marriage.

Now is about the time when you ask yourself, who the hell is Tripper Johnson and what is he doing hanging out in the title? Well buckle up folks, for I am about to tell you the story of the worst UW football player I have ever seen.

Born Nelson Alexander Johnson III (NJ3>RG3), “Tripper” was a stud athlete at Newport High School, where he was a force at football and baseball (averaged .453 with 6 homers his senior year). He is the second most famous person to come out of Newport, falling only behind Beta Theta Pi’s very own, Erik Jensen. Follow him @Themindofjensen.  Good ole Trip signed to play baseball (note, not football) at UW in 2000, and then was chosen by the Orioles in the second round of the 2000 MLB draft. After that, Tripper played eight mediocre seasons in the minors before deciding to make the always wise choice to come play football after his baseball career fizzled out. I mean why not? Trip was after all a first team All-Kingco safety…back in 1999. Let’s see what else was going back in 1999:

Alamo Bowl Preview

First of all, I enjoy posting this post-Apple Cup where UW smacked the Kewgs for their third straight Apple Cup victory. If I could make it through college without losing to the Cougars I would be satisfied, but then again that’s like being satisfied with Qdoba when you can go to Chipotle. Go Purple, Be Gold (which is a lame slogan, talk to Jackson Blake Seidl about that). I would also like to address the hiring of Mike Leach as Head Coach of WSU. Leach is a fantastic offensive mind who is also certifiably insane. He reminds me a lot of Don Vito from Viva La Bam. Craig James’ son incident aside, the guy is a damn good coach and scares me as head coach of Wazzu. He is perfect for the job and at least in the immediate future with Jeff Tuel and Marquess Wilson, and his Air Raid offense should be productive.

Good Luck, Weirdo

If you’re a UW fan, I’m not sure this is the bowl matchup you wanted to see. The Baylor Bears come in at 9-3 (6-3) fresh off of a win against Texas. Baylor is one of my favorite teams to watch play for their offense that can be characterized by one word: nasty. Meanwhile, UW’s defense can also be characterized by one word: terrible.

The good news is that while Baylor averages 43.5 points a game and 571 yards a game, they give up 35.7 points a game. Yes, believe it or not, they give up more points per game than Nick Holt and the Wonderboys that are UW’s defense. Baylor is undoubtedly able to be scored on (given up 30 or more points in 9 games) but they are a dynamic offense led by the probable Heisman winner, Robert Griffin III.