UW Drills Killing? Not For Kilpack

Mention the two-a-day phase of preseason practice to college football players past or present, and eyes usually roll in a manner indicating pain, suffering and sorrow.

It is a time when deprivation becomes a way of life for two weeks of nothing but football - physically demanding practices twice a day, meetings, an overwhelming desire for rest and a longing for a resumption of life in the outside world.

Today was Day 2 of two-a-days for the University of Washington Huskies, a day when some began paying for the sins of summer, a time when players begin questioning their resolve.

But in the midst of all the agony was a happy camper. Mark Kilpack, fifth-year senior tight end who had been through it all before, was glad to be back almost a year to the day he suffered an injury to his right knee that resulted in reconstructive surgery and prevented him from playing last season.

``It's been too long since I've been out here,'' Kilpack said yesterday. ``I'm just ready to go.''

Kilpack, 22, of Beaverton, Ore., is ready to battle for the first-unit position that was his for all 11 games in 1988, after Bill Ames suffered a knee injury that prevented him from playing. Ames was back for his final season last year and reacquired starting status when Kilpack went down.

Now the battle is between Aaron Pierce, a junior who emerged as the No. 1 tight end last spring, and Kilpack.

``What I need to do is play hard every day, because Aaron is a tremendous athlete,'' Kilpack said. ``But either way I think both of us will be playing quite a bit.''

Since the last time Kilpack played in a game, the Huskies have added one-back, wide-open sets to their offensive arsenal. Included are many alignments calling for two tight ends.

``I like that,'' Kilpack said. ``The tight end is more involved, which is what you're looking for. We have more responsibility.''

No matter what happens at tight end, Kilpack will have a job as long-snapper - the center who snaps the ball for the punters. It is a job he had two years ago and one taken over by Ames last year. Husky tight ends are not required to be long-snappers, but that's the way it's worked out recently.

``It's just routine for me,'' Kilpack said. ``It's something I do naturally.''

RYAN KNIGHT ABSENT

-- Wide receiver Ryan Knight, who was expected to begin his Husky career yesterday, is academically ineligible, said Coach Don James.

Knight, a Metro League player of the year as a senior at Ballard High School, was a UW student last year but was ineligible for football under the NCAA's Proposition 48 because he did not have a satisfactory Scholastic Aptitude Test score out of high school.

HUSKIES STRONGER, FASTER

-- Led by Pete Kaligis, a record 15 Huskies began fall drills after bench-pressing 400 pounds. The previous high was seven ``400-pound'' players. Eight other players benched between 370 and 400.

Kaligis, a redshirt-freshman offensive guard from Bellingham, benched 470 pounds.

Led by Eric Simpson, 16 players ran a mile in less than 5 1/2 minutes. Simpson, a freshman cornerback from Portland, was clocked in 5:01.

Not all players were timed for 40 yards, football's traditional distance for measuring speed, but one who did - senior cornerback Charles Mincy - showed exceptional improvement. James said Mincy lowered his time from 4.7 seconds to 4.4.

``At 4.7, he actually had marginal speed for a cornerback in the Pac-10,'' James said.

NOTES

-- The staff of full-time assistant coaches is intact. Two of the six graduate assistants - Rick Redden (wide receivers) and Paul Mauel (inside linebackers) are back for a second year. The new GAs are Rik Haines (offensive line), Jeff Mills (secondary), John Thompson (outside linebackers) and George Winterscheid (offensive line).

-- Offensive guard Lincoln Kennedy of San Diego is the biggest Husky at 6-7 and about 315 pounds. Split end Mario Bailey is the smallest at 5-9 and 157.

-- There are three sets of brothers on the team - Jeff and Shane Pahukoa of Marysville, Mark and Matt Jones of Portland, and Jay and Damon Barry of Northglenn, Colo.