UW Roster Review, No. 2-99: Heimuli Still Working his Way into a Bigger Role

At 6 feet and 225 pounds, Daniel Heimuli looks solidly built for college football. In fact, when he was side by side with the now departed Josh Calvert, they resembled bookends.

Heimuli moved well enough while navigating through University of Washington spring football drills. He appeared to have decent speed and athleticism as he changed direction and delivered blows.

Yet now into his third season in the program, the obvious question surrounding this highly regarded sophomore inside linebacker from East Palo Alto, California, is this:

What's taking him so long?

After all, Heimuli graded out as one of the most widely pursued players in the class of 2019 anywhere, fielding 25 scholarship offers nationwide and choosing the Huskies over Alabama and Oregon in the end.

"He's getting close," UW defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said. "He still needs to learn more of the defense. It still needs to be second nature to him where isn't quite yet, but he's making really good progress."

Going down the roster in numerical order, this is another of our post-spring assessments of all of the Husky talent at hand, gleaned from a month of observations, as a way to keep everyone engaged during the offseason.

Heimuli offered a springtime glimpses of his ability with an interception of starting quarterback Dylan Morris, followed by a forceful stiff arm, and in another session an aggressive sack of running back Sean McGrew.

If he's patient enough and sticks with it, Heimuli, who wears No. 15, likely will become a solid player for the Huskies, a starter for a season or two, and maybe even an NFL player.

However, he's the total football opposite of fellow inside linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio, the former walk-on who's move quickly through the ranks and is now being mentioned in different circles as an All-American candidate.

Heimuli drew the ultimate recruiting attention; Ulofoshio from Las Vegas received none from Division I schools.

Whereas Heimuli has labored over the mental side of the Husky defense, Ulofoshio instinctively picked it up.

"He started out a little slow, so that's one of the reasons we ended up redshirting him," Gregory said in 2020 of the California player. "I think he made progress on the scout team. He made progress in the winter. He certainly came in as a highly recruited guy and real physical, impactful guy."

Every individual is different in the college football maturation process, which is never factored into the recruiting rankings.

Heimuli was a 4-star designee, the kind of talent who turns the diehard UW recruiting follower/subscriber absolutely giddy, convincing them that somebody on the coaching staff is doing something right.

Ulofoshio, had he signed as this supposed borderline college player, would have been panned and the UW coaches would have been ridiculed for taking him, because these critics base everything on a nice orderly grading system.

Heimuli didn't become an immediate game-day presence at the UW, but no one's suggesting he won't.

Heimuli's 2021 Outlook: Projected backup inside linebacker

UW Service Time: Played in 3 games

Stats: 6 tackles

Individual Honors: None

Pro prospects: 2025 NFL third-day draftee

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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