College football

AUBURN - Excited, nervous, anxious, scared.

Tim Galloway's emotions run the gamut as he anticipates his first day of football practice at the University of Washington next week. The Auburn linebacker will be one of the freshmen reporting Tuesday.

"There's that butterfly feeling," Galloway said. "That first day, you wonder how it's going to be, how they're going to take you in. It's going to be different. I know it's going to be tough. You have to expect that. It's the next level."

He looks forward to the challenge.

"It's what I've always been shooting for and dreaming about and working for, going to the next level," Galloway said. "I'm ready to go up there."

And eager to play as soon as possible. Galloway, one of only five incoming freshmen who has been regularly lifting weights with other team members the past few weeks, plans to wait a while before deciding whether he should redshirt his first season.

"I'm going to see how it goes," he said. "They say I might have a chance at linebacker to back up. If I had an opportunity to play and I can compete, why not? But if I'm not going to get in games, I'd rather save that year (of eligibility)."

Galloway (6 feet 2, 230 pounds) has something else to offer, too - he's a long-snapper, a coveted commodity that earned him a varsity letter at Auburn his freshman year. He is the school's only four-year letter-winner in football, becoming a two-way starter as a sophomore, and emerged as the first player in Bob Jones' 10-year tenure as head coach to sign with the Huskies.

"It's kind of a landmark for us," Jones said. "He's our first Husky and the first Pac-10 player we've had since Shane Petersen."

Petersen, an offensive lineman who graduated in 1991, went to Washington State, but was never really a factor there. Jones believes Galloway will leave more of a mark with the Huskies.

"I expect he's going to be able to contribute," he said. "It will be interesting to see how soon."

Galloway has another edge over a lot of young players. As the son of a football coach and former All-Pro CFL lineman, he grew up with the game. Ralph Galloway, a four time All-Pro offensive guard with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was a long-time assistant at Kentwood before Tim started playing the game in fifth grade. He coached Tim in Auburn Junior Football and filmed all of his high-school games. Once Auburn's season was finished, Ralph helped coach Kentwood in the playoffs, including last year's drive to the Class 4A state-championship game.

"The knowledge he has about football is unbelievable," Tim said. "That's helped me a lot."

Jones quickly noticed Tim was ahead of most freshmen.

"You can tell he's a coach's son," Jones said. "He has a lot of football knowledge, a lot of savvy. He knew how to lift weights when he got here. He didn't have to wait around to learn those things."

Ralph has always been quick to help, but careful not to push.

"He kind of steps back," Tim said. "He's learned from experience - he doesn't like parents like that who harp on their kids. He stood back and let me do my thing, let me grow. Rather than try to make me do something, he let me seek my own path."

That path led to football at an early age, although Tim was more interested in soccer and baseball early. His older brother, Tyler, focused on swimming and water polo at Auburn. While football became Tim's main sport, he also played basketball and competed in track and field. Offensively, Tim has played everything from quarterback to fullback to tight end, but he's always had a defensive home at linebacker.

"I've always had a knack for the ball," he said. "I like defense a lot better (than offense), running after guys and tackling them. But, don't get me wrong, I like to score, too."

Galloway scored well with college scouts after a big junior season that included 102 tackles. He had always dreamed about playing college football in the California sun, wearing a UCLA uniform, but he was quickly charmed by UW Coach Rick Neuheisel and made his oral commitment before the season started. That took the recruiting pressure off, but made him even more of a marked man last fall.

"I knew I'd have a purple "W" target on my chest," Galloway said.

He admitted he was often frustrated by the double and triple teams, but took it as a sign of respect and kept the team aspect in mind.

"I knew that left someone else open to tackle the ball-carrier," he said.

Galloway also was slowed early on by an ankle injury, but still led the Trojans with 96 tackles, 11 for losses. He was selected to play in the East-West All-Star Game and was named defensive captain of the West team. His work ethic and hard-nosed style earned him respect around the South Puget Sound League.

"He's very intense, a little bit of a throw-back," Jones said. "He's very focused."

And often stuck on "Go!"

"The comment I hear a lot from coaches is that he has a good motor," Ralph Galloway said, "Even in the fourth quarter, he's still running hard and making plays."

And starting next week, Tim Galloway will try to make his mark with the Huskies.