Pac-12 After Spring: Washington coach Chris Petersen

Spring football is over. Real football is still far, far away.

To help bridge the gap, we’re checking in on Arizona’s competition in the Pac-12 – running some of the best comments from the league’s coaches after their recent participation in a conference call to wrap up spring ball.

Today’s Q&A is with Washington coach Chris Petersen, whose team has emerged as a dark-horse contender thanks in part to the rapid development of quarterback Jake Browning.

We’ll wrap up the series on Friday with Washington State’s Mike Leach. But first, here’s Petersen:

(on what enabled Browning to thrive as a freshman last season)

“One, he came from a really, really good high school program (Folsom [Calif.] High). He was coached well. Threw the ball a ton. He broke all the national records (for) touchdowns. He had a pretty good body of work coming in. And he’s about as focused and driven as any freshman that I’ve been around for a long time. He put tremendous work in.

“Even with all that being said, he’s still a freshman. It’s still really, really hard. But he had those things going for him, and that gave him a fighting chance.”

(on whether freshmen in general are better prepared to contribute immediately nowadays)

“Yeah, for sure. I think the coaching is more advanced. The kids are training earlier, year-round, all those different things. And then just with depth issues, I think you’re forced to play them.

“So the combination of all those things really kind of adds up. You’re going to see freshmen playing. They’re better coached. They’re more prepared. Nobody has enough depth. And so away you go.”

(on whether quarterbacks specifically believe they’re able to play earlier now)

“I would think so. I will tell you this: I think any freshman coming in and really wanting and thinking that’s going to be their deal, to play right away, that’s not an ideal situation. I think Jake would tell you that. As much as he wanted to play, I think the whole thing was harder than he thought it was going to be.

“You’ve got some special guys. But it’s just rare. And if you can actually sit and learn for at least a year, at that position, it’s not that much different than the NFL. Those guys that get thrown in there as rookies, it looks good on paper. And then you’ve got to go in there and play against all that? The ideal situation, if they can learn for some time and not have to go, is better for everybody involved.”