Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Washington coach Tyrone Willingham doesn't use colorful words very often, so when he calls something "amazing," it probably is just that.

That's how he termed the recovery of center Juan Garcia, who will be leading the Washington offensive line against Oregon on Saturday.

Last April, Garcia was fighting tears while talking about his potential career-ending foot injury.

The best-case scenario at the time was a midseason return from the Lisfranc injury, a fracture-dislocation of the mid-foot. Measured estimates said he might be ready to play again in 10 months to a year.

"Might," being the operative word for Garcia, a 25-game starter who had earned a sixth-year of eligibility because of previous injuries.

Even with the extra year, Garcia had considered entering the 2008 NFL draft before deciding to return. Five months ago, that seemed like an inauspicious decision -- he likely would have been a second-day draft pick.

A 315-pounder with foot problems, however, raises a lot of red flags with NFL scouts.

Yet now Garcia, a second-team All-Pac-10 pick last year, claims he doesn't even think about his foot.

"I kept the faith, worked hard and prayed a lot," he said. "It was sore for a while but now it doesn't bother me at all."

Garcia's presence gives the Huskies four returning starters from a line that led the conference's second-best rushing attack in 2007 (203 yards per game) and was fairly stout in pass protection (24 sacks).

There's something else that Garcia brings -- a big dose of nasty. Let's just say that Garcia has a reputation among conference D-linemen.

Mentioning that to Garcia almost makes the big guy blush.

"I think this is the nastiest O-line since I've been here," he said. "That's been my complaint since I've been here -- the O-line was just too damn soft. And I think teams win and lose games off the O-line."

That's not always true. The O-line played fairly well last year against Oregon -- the Huskies gained 421 yards and scored 34 points -- but the Ducks rolled to their fourth consecutive victory in the rivalry, 55-34, by outscoring the Huskies 24-3 in the fourth quarter.

"You get blown out of the water and it [expletive] you off," he said. "As a competitor, you get angry and wonder when enough is going to be enough."

Few believe Garcia and the Huskies, a 14-point underdog, have a shot at 21st-ranked Oregon. But Garcia said he expects quarterback Jake Locker to make a big difference this go-around. Now it's the Huskies featuring an experienced, athletic quarterback while the Ducks are in transition at the position.

"I think [Locker] is ready to explode," Garcia said. "His accuracy is on point now. He's a big leader. Last year, he was a leader, but this year, I think he knows he owns the team and we look up to him."

Locker and Garcia, the lone remaining member of the 2003 team that beat Oregon 42-10, know what to expect of a road game, but almost all of the Huskies' skill players, including true freshman tailback Chris Polk, will be making their first start inside raucous Autzen Stadium.

Garcia is not unsympathetic.

"If you're a young guy, it can be pretty intimidating," he said. "I told them, 'you have the right to be scared, to be nervous. You can be shaking. But after one or two plays go off, it's time to turn it on or else you're not a football player.'"

Garcia is definitely one of those. It's just amazing, though, that he'll be demonstrating that fact in the season opener.