Among the many things Rick Neuheisel has learned in two years at the University of Washington is that expectations never change.

So even though the Huskies must replace Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year Marques Tuiasosopo, seven of their top eight offensive linemen -- including two all-league honorees -- all-league safety Hakim Akbar and leading tackler Derrell Daniels, Neuheisel knows nothing less than a repeat of last season really will be considered successful.

"We are the Washington Huskies,'' he said. "We've got to find a way to compete for the conference championship.''

It won't be easy.

The Huskies lost 12 starters from a year ago, as well as several other key contributors, leaving UW particularly young and inexperienced at quarterback and on both lines.

"Rebuilding is coach-speak for, 'This won't be my fault,' '' Neuheisel said.

"I think if you allow expectations to diminish, you allow performance to diminish. Certainly we understand we are playing with some inexperienced players. But there are lots of examples of inexperienced players playing really well and that's what we expect to do.''

The Huskies might go with two quarterbacks to replace Tuiasosopo -- sophomore Cody Pickett and junior Taylor Barton, a transfer from Community College of San Francisco who played two years at Colorado, one under Neuheisel in 1998.

Pickett, a 6-4, 205-pounder from Caldwell, Idaho, held on to the No. 1 job throughout the spring, boasting a stronger arm and better running ability than Barton.

But Neuheisel also likes the intangibles of Barton, a heady player who threw for an average of 343 yards and four TDs a game last year at CCSF. As the spring progressed, Neuheisel seemed more receptive to the thought of playing both quarterbacks in the fall, picking and choosing times for each to be successful.

The Huskies, however, appear loaded with experience and talent at the other skill positions. The team's top three running backs return, including sophomore Rich Alexis, who set a UW freshman record with 738 yards. Also back are seniors Willie Hurst and Braxton Cleman, each of whom has stood out in limited play.

The receivers generally have been viewed as a weakness the past two years, and they're suddenly a strength. Every receiver who caught a pass last year returns, led by Todd Elstrom (47 catches) and Justin Robbins (22 catches) as well as 1999 leading receiver Chris Juergens, who sat out last year with a knee injury.

Also back is tight end Jerramy Stevens, who had 43 catches, the most of any tight end in UW history.

The real cause for excitement among many UW fans, however, is a pair of incoming freshmen -- 6-4, 215-pound Reggie Williams of Tacoma and 6-foot, 190-pound Charles Frederick, each regarded among the top high school receivers in the country last year.

The offensive concern is the line. The Huskies had only eight healthy scholarship linemen in the spring, and will have only 14 scholarship in the linemen in the fall -- all but three of whom will be freshmen or sophomores.

The only returning starter is senior Kyle Benn, a center who could see some time at guard.

Though the Huskies lost five defensive starters off last year's team -- including Akbar, who left a year early for the NFL -- a lot of talent returns, such as tackles Larry Tripplett (who seriously thought about leaving for the NFL before deciding to stay) and Marcus Roberson and cornerbacks Omare Lowe and Chris Massey.

But the defense took a hit when two linemen the team was counting on to return were ruled out for the year by the end of spring -- ends Ryan Julian (career-ending knee problems) and Ossim Hatem (blood clot). The Huskies likely will have to put a few redshirt freshmen and true freshmen into the regular rotation.

The other question on defense is at safety, where Akbar and Curtis Williams were one of the best duos in the Pac-10 last year before Williams suffered a career-ending neck injury against Stanford that left him paralyzed.

Freshman Greg Carothers started the last four games in place of Williams and is set at strong safety. But the other spot is up for grabs between walk-on junior Owen Biddle, sophomore Jimmy Newell and former cornerback Roderick Green.

Neuheisel and his staff won't have long to put it all together, however, with Michigan rolling in for the opener and the Huskies then headed to Miami the following week.

"The thing that is a little foreboding is that the early schedule does not give you an opportunity to learn as you grow,'' Neuheisel said. "We have to play well early in the year or take our licks. It's not the perfect schedule for the lack of experience we will have.''

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