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The Washington Huskies football team put pads on for the first time Sunday at East Field next to Husky Stadium in Seattle.
With the Huskies was a familiar, and somewhat surprising face.
Fifth-year defensive lineman Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei was with Washington wearing No. 46 in practice. He was running with the starters, resuming his role he had with the team last year, where he played in all 13 games.
Uiagalelei had been a fixture on teams coached by Jedd Fisch for the entirety of his collegiate career. He began with the Arizona Wildcats while Fisch was the headman in 2022 and transferred to Washington ahead of the 2025 season.
Alas, when last year came to a close after the Huskies' 38-10 win in the Los Angeles Bowl against the Boise State Broncos, so did Uiagalelei's college career. Assumably.
Uiagalelei exhausted all four years of his eligibility and attempted to turn pro and competed in UW's pro day March 16.
The defensive tackle didn't receive an invite to the NFL combine, wasn't drafted, wasn't signed to an undrafted free agent contract or invited to a rookie minicamp by an NFL team.
It seemed like the opportunity to continue his career wasn't in the cards for him, but a new opportunity presented itself in July.
On July 31, a U.S. District court judge in Colorado granted a class-wide injunction granting players who enrolled in the 2022-23 academic season a fifth year of eligibility under the NCAA's new rules.
Under the NCAA's new guidelines, redshirts and medical waivers, aside from a case-by-case basis, are no longer applicable and players now have five years of eligibility as a result rather than the previous four.
Uiagalelei was one of the players granted a fifth year under the court decision and in a fall training camp practice Sunday at Husky Stadium, Uiagalelei returned to the team. He was wearing No. 46, rather than his old No. 11 (which was assigned to Class of 2026 commitment Ramzak Fruean). It was the first day of pads for Washington and Uiagalelei practiced with the starters.
The 6-foot-4, 285-pound defensive tackle provides a significant amount of size and experience on the interior of the defensive line for the Huskies and his presence as a likely starter will just keep the rest of UW's defensive line rotation healthy.
Last season, Uiagalelei registered 20 total tackles (11 solo), including four tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass defended.
Continue reading...
With the Huskies was a familiar, and somewhat surprising face.
Fifth-year defensive lineman Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei was with Washington wearing No. 46 in practice. He was running with the starters, resuming his role he had with the team last year, where he played in all 13 games.
Uiagalelei had been a fixture on teams coached by Jedd Fisch for the entirety of his collegiate career. He began with the Arizona Wildcats while Fisch was the headman in 2022 and transferred to Washington ahead of the 2025 season.
Alas, when last year came to a close after the Huskies' 38-10 win in the Los Angeles Bowl against the Boise State Broncos, so did Uiagalelei's college career. Assumably.
Uiagalelei exhausted all four years of his eligibility and attempted to turn pro and competed in UW's pro day March 16.
The defensive tackle didn't receive an invite to the NFL combine, wasn't drafted, wasn't signed to an undrafted free agent contract or invited to a rookie minicamp by an NFL team.
It seemed like the opportunity to continue his career wasn't in the cards for him, but a new opportunity presented itself in July.
On July 31, a U.S. District court judge in Colorado granted a class-wide injunction granting players who enrolled in the 2022-23 academic season a fifth year of eligibility under the NCAA's new rules.
Under the NCAA's new guidelines, redshirts and medical waivers, aside from a case-by-case basis, are no longer applicable and players now have five years of eligibility as a result rather than the previous four.
Uiagalelei was one of the players granted a fifth year under the court decision and in a fall training camp practice Sunday at Husky Stadium, Uiagalelei returned to the team. He was wearing No. 46, rather than his old No. 11 (which was assigned to Class of 2026 commitment Ramzak Fruean). It was the first day of pads for Washington and Uiagalelei practiced with the starters.
The 6-foot-4, 285-pound defensive tackle provides a significant amount of size and experience on the interior of the defensive line for the Huskies and his presence as a likely starter will just keep the rest of UW's defensive line rotation healthy.
Last season, Uiagalelei registered 20 total tackles (11 solo), including four tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass defended.
Continue reading...
