FOOTBALL: Bronson ready to make mark at UW

Demitrius Bronson doubted himself. Second-guessed his choice. Even considered stepping away from the University of Washington before ever suiting up for the football team.

It was mid December of last year and the Huskies had just completed the worst season in program history. They finished with an embarrassing 0-12 record, a winless campaign that led to the dismissal of head coach Tyrone Willingham.

The coach, the one who recruited Bronson out of Kentwood High, who believed in Bronson’s ability and in his future, was gone.

The UW program was in turmoil.

Internally, Bronson was hurting.

This was not what he envisioned upon graduating from Kentwood High in the spring of 2008, just months after establishing the school record for rushing yards in a career by finishing his Conqueror days with a whopping 3,810.

But neither had he envisioned falling short academically, leading to a greyshirt season during which he could not play or practice with the team.

All those cheers he had heard less than a year earlier while dominating the French Field turf?

Gone.

Bronson had essentially gone from being “The Man” in high school to the forgotten man during his first year in college.

It wasn’t easy, Bronson admits.

“Nobody was pulling for me anymore,” he said. “I felt like I was one of those who fell off, and that’s what I didn’t want to be.”

Bronson, however, was still there, in the locker room and around the team. The cloud that hung over the program was plenty palpable, even for a kid who never got to suit up and who no longer was the star.

“(All the losing) puts it in your head, ‘Is this school for me?’” Bronson lamented last December. “I put some thought into it on whether I should change (schools). It also has been frustrating not being able to play and help out my teammates.

“(But) something’s just telling me to stick with it. Things are going to change,” Bronson continued. “Right now, this team can’t get any worse — point blank, it can’t. All you can do is get better. I just want to be that person that helps make it better.”

Since that December day, Bronson has committed himself more than ever to help Washington regain the respect it has lost.

The fire that burned strong inside during his standout prep days has returned for the former KW star, who is looking at this fall as one of the greatest opportunities of his life. It’s a chance to show those who now might doubt him due to his lost season, doubt the numbers that he put up in high school, that he is in fact, the same caliber of player who was recruited by every program in the Pacific-10 coming out of high school.

“I feel like you have to take the opportunity when it’s there,” Bronson said two weeks ago, the difference in tone clear from seven months ago. “I think this is going to be a good year as a freshman to make a positive move. We need a tailback and the position is wide open.

“I just want to get back on the map.”

Ultimately, the same can be said for the UW program, which opens the season on Sept. 5 at Husky Stadium against Louisiana State University. The Huskies will enter kickoff on a 14-game losing streak. The longest losing streak in Pac-10 history is 15 games.

However, since the final whistle blew on last season, the program has hired a new coach (Steve Sarkisian) and quickly changed directions.

Bronson, who was the heartbeat of the Kentwood team from 2005-07, desperately wants to be one of the keys to getting the Huskies back to a respectable level. He has put in the hours during the offseason, too, working out several times a week at Kent’s Imperial Fitness, a training center that has helped make Bronson’s strong frame even more imposing.

Bronson now is in the best football shape of his life, which is a stark contrast to his final spring in high school, when he had gotten too bulky too fast. It showed during the track season that spring, when strained hamstrings forced Bronson to the sidelines. In a little more than a year since, he has shed seven pounds — going from 217 to 210 — and reduced his body fat from 12 percent to eight percent.

Perhaps more importantly, however, is the fact that Bronson finished this past spring quarter at the UW with a 3.1 grade-point average, which put him among the leaders on the football team.

“Things are starting to fall in place,” a pleased Bronson said.

They also are beginning to fall in line on the football field. During the spring game in April, when he was still a relative unknown to the new coaching staff, Bronson showed some of that high school spark, going for 32 yards and a touchdown on four carries.

So when sports talk radio hosts joke about whether or not it’s good to be a Husky these days, Bronson has an immediate response.

“I think so. I love it,” he said with conviction. “I love to see where the team’s going. I like being a part of what we’re trying to rebuild at Husky Stadium. I know we went 0-12, but that’s not in our system anymore. If everybody could just see the attitude, it has changed so much … people will be surprised.

“We’re going to surprise a lot of people with our play.”

In Bronson’s mind there’s no doubt about that.

Just as there’s no more doubt about himself.