Former Huskies QB is happy to be home again in Seattle
KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) — Brock Huard pulled into a golf course parking lot Wednesday, marveling at the majestic sight of Mount Rainier on a clear day rising over a stand of evergreens.
”Awesome,” he said breathlessly. ”Mount Rainier is just unbelievable.”
That's the beauty of Northwest living, and Huard ought to know. He went to high school in Puyallup, played quarterback in college for the Washington Huskies and began his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks.
He spent the last two seasons backing up NFL co-MVP Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, then rejoined the Seahawks in April.
”I was probably going back to Indy or to Seattle, someplace there was some familiarity,” Huard said. ”In the end, it was about staying here or going back to the Colts. I was very elated to come back here.”
As in Indianapolis, Huard's role with the Seahawks is to be a backup. Matt Hasselbeck is coming off a Pro Bowl season and Trent Dilfer remains a capable veteran and established team leader.
That leaves Huard, who made four starts in six games with Seattle from 1999-2001, to jockey for the third-string position against second-year pro Seneca Wallace.
”Brock gives me a little bit more of a comfort zone if something were to happen,” coach Mike Holmgren said. ”I hope not, but if something happens, he could go in and he's had a little more experience.”
Holmgren emphasized that he still likes Wallace's athleticism, and Huard acknowledged he's been promised nothing. The spot won't be settled until training camp in August.
”I don't have a crystal ball,” said Huard, starting his sixth NFL season. ”I can't tell you what's going to happen, but that's the beauty of the game. Guys at any position can come out of nowhere and get the job done.”
Taking snaps behind Manning didn't exactly make Huard a hot offseason commodity. He played in only two games last season, completing two of the three passes he attempted.
Not that it was a bad experience, of course.
”It was good for me to see another football system, to see how things operate in another organization and coaching staff,” Huard said. ”It was a good challenge to make new friends and learn a new system.”
During his first three seasons with the Seahawks, after Huard was a third-round draft choice in 1999, he completed 58 of 104 passes for 667 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
The numbers don't tell the whole story, though.
Huard has value to the Seahawks because he broke into the NFL in Holmgren's West Coast offense, and he's spent two seasons in a drop-back system playing behind Manning.
”He came in with a couple of really good thoughts and ideas that we can put into our system,” Holmgren said. ”It's just good to have him. This is home for him. I think he's happy to be back.”
Huard enthusiastically confirmed that. He's thrilled to play in a familiar system, and he likes Seattle's coaching staff and organization.
”Football-wise, to know what I was doing was big. That was probably the first part of it,” Huard said.
Even better, he can see his family more often, and Huard has discovered that a former Huskies quarterback rarely has difficulty getting a tee time in the Seattle-Tacoma corridor.
”This is where my heart is, where my home is,” Huard said. ”It's where I wanted to be whenever I'm done playing. To come into that opportunity is special. To do it in front of friends and family, to share it with them, it's going to be awesome.”