Choosing the Husky Starting Lineup: 10 Reasons to Make a Bold ILB Choice
Everybody wanted No. 10 for the University of Washington football team to be more vocal last season. Jacob Eason said it just wasn't his style.
The starting quarterback with the incredible arm yet subdued personality intimated he would lead by example. That would be more than enough.
By the end of the year, however, the Huskies finished 8-5 and player to player they readily acknowledged something was missing in their approach. They weren't effective finishers, letting three games get away from them in the fourth quarter — all at home.
They had plenty of talent, but they weren't gritty enough. They didn't protect what was rightfully theirs, which was the home-field advantage. They weren't vocal enough about it.
Well, there's a new No. 10 in town. Eason is in the NFL now, showing off his rocket right arm. He's checked in his jersey.
Yes, freshman quarterback Ethan Garber came in and scooped up the discarded number and calls it his own, at least on the offensive side of the ball.
Yet there's another guy who puffs out his chest with this number on it and he's someone who clearly knows all about fury and fire.
Just look at this No. 10, so full of emotion as he leads his teammates in this mesmerizing Haka chant captured in this Twitter video from his Hawaiian high-school football days. From his game highlights in the islands, he's shown he can run and hit, too.
While he hasn't played a down for Washington yet, we like his emotional approach to the game and have made him a wild-card pick for a Husky starting assignment. Every team has at least one guy who comes from the blind side and wraps his arms around a first-unit job.
Opening alongside Edefuan Ulofoshio at the rejuvenated inside-linebacker position group, this is that guy. Get ready to do the Haka.
ILB candidates: Jackson Sirmon, 6-3, 237, sophomore; MJ Tafisi, 6-0, 241, sophomore; Miki Ah You, 6-1, 218, redshirt freshman; Josh Calvert, 6-2, 218, redshirt freshman; Daniel Heimuli, 6-0, 225, redshirt freshman; Alphonzo Tuputala, 6-2, 231, redshirt freshman; Carson Bruener, 6-2, 201, freshman; Cooper McDonald, 6-2, 215, freshman.
ILB starting experience: Edefuan Ulofoshio, 3 starts.
Our selection: Ah You. He's in charge of teaching people in Seattle what the Haka is. This not meant to disrespect Sirmon, who, whether he starts or not, will compete hard for playing time and should draw plenty of minutes. But knowing Jimmy Lake's predilection for a total-assault Husky defense, we think the UW coach will call for as much speed as he can to open each game, and Ah You can give him that. Fully repaired from a knee injury suffered early in his senior high school season, the Hawaiian spent his first year at Washington making sure the hinge was sound. When he's all put together, Ah You brings this fiery approach and aggressive playing style that will fascinate Husky Stadium crowds. He's the grandson of an island legend of the same name who played at Arizona State and is inducted to the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame. Before the pandemic hit, Ah You's coaches mentioned they were extra pleased with him in workouts, saying he was showing real flashes of what he can do. It's time to see it.
Other options: While we've already discussed Sirmon, Tafisi is the only other inside guy on the roster with significant experience, appearing in seven games last season before he was lost with stinger, or neck injury. He's got a squatty body, but he's not afraid to stick his nose into an opposing running back. The coaches had enough trust in him to play him regularly. Calvert, like Ah You, is coming off knee injury, suffered in high school and at the UW, respectively, and haven't played, but he brings a high pedigree. Heimuli was the highest-rated guy coming in and hasn't played, but will. Tuputala played some as a freshman and is considered someone to keep an eye on. All four of the youngest guys should be significant contributors in time.
Greatest Husky ILB: Joe Kelly. Often overshadowed by the Husky teammates around him such as defensive linemen Reggie Rogers and Ron Holmes, who were multiple All-American selections, and then injured for a large chunk of his senior season, Kelly didn't receive any national honors in his final two seasons. However, the NFL knew how good this guy was and picked him No. 11 overall in the 1986, the highest draft position of any UW linebacker in school history. He was a big factor in the 1985 Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma. He went on to an 11-year pro career and was a Cincinnati Bengals starter in Super Bowl XXIII, won at the end by the San Francisco 49ers 20-16.
Other legendary UW ILBs: Ben Burr-Kirven, who led the nation in tackles in 2018 and was a first-team All-America pick; Michael Jackson, a 1978 Rose Bowl linebacker and second-team All-America selection who preserved the UW's 27-20 victory over Michigan with a late end-zone interception; Tim Meamber, a team captain and All-Pac-10 selection who played alongside Kelly in the 1985 Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma; Rick Redman, the starting middle linebacker for the 1964 Rose Bowl team opposite Illinois and Dick Butkus and a second-team All-America pick; Chuck Allen, the starting middle linebacker and a two-way player for the 1960 and 1961 Rose Bowl winners; Azeem Victor, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2016 despite breaking his leg with four games left in the season; Dave Hoffman, who started the 1991, 1992 and 1993 Rose Bowls and was a two-time second-team All-America selection; and James Clifford, who led the Pac-10 in tackles as a sophomore in 1989 and started in the 1993 Rose Bowl.
The UW Starting Lineup:
Left tackle — Victor Curne
Left guard — Ulumoo Ale
Center — Luke Wattenberg
Right guard — Corey Luciano
Right tackle — Henry Bainivalu
Tight end — Cade Otton
Tight end — Jacob Kizer
Wide receiver — Puka Nacua
Wide receiver — Ty Jones
Running back — Richard Newton
Quarterback —
Kicker —
Punter —
Outside linebacker — Laiatu Latu
Defensive tackle —
Defensive tackle —
Outside linebacker —
Inside linebacker — Edefuan Ulofoshio
Inside linebacker — Miki Ah You
Cornerback —
Cornerback —
Nickel back —
Strong safety —
Free safety —
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