Times have been tough for Seattle sports fans in recent years. Anytime you watch your city’s professional basketball franchise load up the wagon and head to Oklahoma, things clearly aren’t going well.

Perhaps the greatest misery of all though came from last season’s Washington football squad.

0-12.

For as much as we sportswriters pride ourselves on being able to bring out the true essence of stats and numbers with carefully crafted verbiage, 0-12 – UW’s mark in 2008 – is a figure best served a la carte.

There was little doubt the Huskies would improve this season.

Statistically, it would have been almost impossible for them not too.

But this resurgence, one that has UW at 2-1 in the Pac-10, was unexpected — and it has also been highly entertaining.

There has been a slaying of mighty Trojans, a fortuitous bounce off a foot – or the ground depending on your vantage point – and a last-second showdown in South Bend.

And all the excitement, all the thrills, heroics and heart-pounding moments have been made largely possible because of one man.

He is an energized force who has lifted the spirits of a team that had none a year ago. He has guided his team in a direction that could include, dare I say, the postseason.

He has captured the attention of a fan base and has stirred hopes of a special season in Seattle.

Wait, you didn’t think I was going to say Steve Sarkisian, did you?

Sure, the first-year head coach has been instrumental in changing the culture at UW in impressively short amount of time since taking over for Ty Willingham.

But when it comes to what has taken place on the field this season, the true reason for the louder roar of the Huskies, one person has made all the difference: Jake Locker.

Seemingly lost in the celebration of a monumental upset of USC early in the season and the wild “immaculate interception” win over UA last week has been the story of Locker’s resurgence.

The multi-talented signal caller was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2007, rushing for nearly 1,000 yards.

But after just four games last season, Locker’s chance continue his ascension as one of college football’s most exciting quarterbacks ended.

With Locker out, the quarterback play was a big part of the reason the Huskies won as many games as the Seattle SuperSonics in 2008.

The question this season became, how would the fleet-footed Locker bounce back? And how would the guy who loved to scamper adapt to his new coach’s pro-style offense that has produced a fraternity of gunslingers at Sark’s old school, USC.

The answer: Just fine, thank you very much.

Locker leads the conference in passing yards (1,423) touchdown passes (10) and total offense (270.3 yards per game).

So the guy that was torturing defenses with his legs is now lighting them up with his arm, too? Sounds dangerous.

“The bottom line is that he’s a lot more accurate,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “He is a way better quarterback than he was two years ago. I think the people in the NFL have him rated as one of the top in the country, and that shows you how good he is and how much he’s improved.”

I took the liberty of scouring the bowels of the internet and found most NFL mock drafts have Locker being nabbed in the top 10.

The point is, Locker might be the most talented player who walks into Sun Devil Stadium this season, and it will take everything the ASU defense can muster to keep him from walking out of it a winner.

Locker’s big arm and its increasing ability to hit targets in stride will undoubtedly take the Huskies places this season. And oh yeah, so will those legs.

“The thing about Locker is, if you’re not in your rush lanes, he’ll turn and run,” Erickson said. “Once he gets in the secondary, you are not catching him. You are not catching that guy.”

Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu.