Huskies’ Trufant eager to play UH

SEATTLE » Ask University of Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant to spell opportunity and he all but gives you H-a-w-a-i-i.

For this Husky, the coming of the UH offense Saturday is viewed as another juicy bone.

Trufant was the man of the moment — the final one, anyway — in the Huskies’ season opener, a 30-27 victory over Eastern Washington he preserved with an acrobatic end zone interception with 29 seconds remaining.

And, he sees no reason why the fun can’t be stretched to two weeks with a second consecutive air-minded opponent

"You get a lot of opportunities when you face two (passing) teams like this in a row," said Trufant, who was named the Pac-12 defensive player of the week for his game-saving interception, a forced fumble and 11 tackles.

It was the second time in his two-plus years as a starter that Trufant, a 6-foot, 184-pound junior, has come up with a game-saving, late fourth-quarter interception.

After Eastern Washington attempted 69 passes (completing 39 for 473 yards), he can hardly wait to see what UH, with the nation’s passing leader in 2010, might put in the air.

"That means more opportunities for the secondary. I mean, it gets you all hyped up pretty much," Trufant said.

"Hawaii has a real good quarterback (Bryant Moniz) and we know they are gonna pass and pretty much the game is going to be in our hands," Trufant said.

"They are going to throw 70, 80 percent of the time, so it is probably going to come down to us to win the game."

The brother of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant, Desmond said facing a passing team "is definitely exciting. I think it makes you play your best because it could come your way and you have to step it up for your team. It is a great feeling to be able to do that."

Trufant will have more help this week with the return of senior cornerback Quinton Richardson, who was out with a high ankle sprain.

Still, Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said, "They (the Warriors) make it challenging on you, so we are going to have our hands full there."

Trufant says he is counting on it.

WR Kearse will play

Sarkisian said the Huskies’ top receiver, Jermaine Kearse, who suffered an ankle injury on the first series against Eastern Washington, will play Saturday. In addition, linebacker Garrett Gilliland, has been cleared after suffering a concussion.

About 60,000 expected

Washington officials said approximately 2,300 tickets had been sold to fans from Hawaii by Monday.

A crowd upwards of 60,000 is expected for the nonconference game.

UH is hoping that the combination of the game and Sunday’s fourth annual Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival at Seattle Center will help bring out a lot of Pacific Northwest-based former Hawaii residents.

Festival organizers said the U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are 50,000 Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the state of Washington.