Inside The Huskies

Fautanu Provides UW With New Heartbeat, Fancy Dance Moves

The big offensive tackle has taken upon himself to provide the Huskies with emotional leadership.
Dan Raley|
Fautanu Provides UW With New Heartbeat, Fancy Dance Moves
Fautanu Provides UW With New Heartbeat, Fancy Dance Moves

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Washington Huskies

This University of Washington football team has had no shortage of hipster dance moves this spring. 

Earlier this month, people arriving at Husky Stadium with practice set to began were treated to starting wide receivers Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja'Lynn Polk moving and shaking together to George Clinton's UW staple "Atomic Dog."

Last week, linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio did a solo to a pop song in the middle of Dempsey Indoor that had him and others laughing and eventually turned up on Twitter.

On Monday, it was Troy Fautanu's turn to let everything hang out. This truly was a sight to behold. Hands down, he won spring football's overall dance contest.

As Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" came pulsating through the Husky Stadium music system, the extra-thick offensive tackle placed his helmet at his feet and began to wiggle.

Totally into it, and unfortunately no one was able to document this classic moment on video, Fautanu soon was gyrating his arms in a cross between John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction" or any Beach Boys fan responding to "Surfin' Safari." 

With spring practice winding down, the 6-foot-4, 312-pound junior from Henderson, Nevada, has taken it upon himself to become the Huskies' ever demonstrative, loudest and possibly most emotional leader.

Intricate dance steps aside, the fun-loving Fautanu continually is the player letting out the loudest roar on and off the field. 

"That's my guy! That's my guy!" he screams out when receiver Germie Bernard, a fellow Liberty High product in Nevada, comes up with a catch.

He prowls the sideline offering upbeat commentary to other linemen, occasionally letting out a scream and pointing skyward, yet to no one in particular. 

"For me, it's fun to be here," Fautanu said. "To be honest, I'm just trying to enjoy every single day, pumping up my guys."

A year ago, Fautanu became a full-fledged starter for the first time, establishing himself at left tackle. Yet he still felt like an understudy to sixth-year senior Jaxson Kirkland, still being advised and mentored by him, when it came to team leadership.

With Kirkland now preparing for the NFL draft, it's on Fautanu to step up and fill that void. The fact that he's been through the entire wars of an 11-2 season, enjoying a second-team All-Pac-12 selection, gives him plenty of street cred with his teammates, who include three new starters across the offensive line. 

In his first season as a full-fledged Husky starter over 13 games, Troy Fautanu received second-team All-Pac-12 honors.

Troy Fautanu stares down a California defender in Berkeley during the Huskies' 28-21 victory at midseason. 

Troy Fautanu and Myles Murao mix it up during a spring football drill in Husky Stadium.

Nate Kalepo and Troy Fautanu, in the middle of stretching exercises, acknowledge the camera pointed at them by Skylar Lin.

Troy Fautanu crouches and prepares to strike out at Roger Rosengarten holding a practice pad in Dempsey Indoor.

With line coach Scott Huff watching, Troy Fautaanu lurches forward to hit a blocking sled in Husky Stadium. 

Troy Fautanu leaves the field following the 2021 Apple Cup, which the Huskies lost to Washington State 40-13.

Troy Fautanu knocks down an Arizona defender as the Huskies pick up a road win in Tucson in 2021.

"I have the confidence after going through a whole season," he said. "Now I'm out here taking the thinking away and just out there playing ball. Bringing up the younger guys is something I've taken personal. That's exactly what I'm doing."

And, if they still had a TV show on the air such as long-departed but much revered  "American Bandstand" or "Soul Train," Fautanu would be an invited guest, shaking and shimmying to the music, taking a bow when he was done.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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