Huskies Can't Let Their Guard Down, Need to Start Ale Again
The University of Washington football coaching staff typically doesn't speak about specific mistakes committed by players. This is sidestepped with coach-speak, with the suggestion that these guys need to execute better, be more consistent or put in a better position to succeed.
Yet in the second quarter at Oregon State, up-and-coming left guard Julius Buelow — who unseated veteran Ulumoo Ale as the starter in the preseason — failed to deliver adequate pass protection against Beavers defensive tackle Thomas Sio.
Reaching up and swatting down a Dylan Morris pass on a third-and-13 situation, Sio forced a punting situation to stymie a fourth consecutive UW offensive series.
Someone had to pay a stiff price for this.
Buelow.
Thomas Sio's pass deflection forced the Huskies to make a change at left guard.
Soobum Im/USA TODAY Sports
After playing four and a half games without interruption, the massive 6-foot-8, 330-pound redshirt freshman from Kapolei, Hawaii, was yanked from the lineup. With the Huskies trailing 14-7, his coaches put him in position to concede.
In went Ale, a 6-foot-6, 355-pound sophomore from Tacoma by way of Australia and Samoa, who no doubt was humbled by having his job taken from him after starting all four games in 2020. He seemed eager to make up for lost time.
Ale came in for the final series of the opening half, which went 68 yards until the Huskies ran out of time and settled for a Peyton Henry field goal to narrow the gap to 14-10.
Over 12 plays to close the second quarter, the UW ran the ball eight times and did so with authority, picking up 4, 9, 5, 9, 12, 17, 3, and 4 yards.
Ale next played the entire second half and was seen knocking OSU players off their feet as the Huskies picked up a pair of fourth-quarter Sean McGrew touchdown runs.
Ulumoo Ale (68) follows up on a Sean McGrew gainer against the Beavers.
Soobum Im/USA TODAY Sports
"He played well [and] Julius has played well throughout this year also," coach Jimmy Lake said in noncommittal fashion. "We have two quality players that continue to battle it out. Like I always say, it's never set in stone."
One still had to wonder what Ale did or didn't do in spring and fall training camps to lose his position, as the only one of the five returning starters who didn't reclaim his role.
While the youthful and well-proportioned Buelow remains an attractive player who yet may succeed in a big way as a collegian, it almost seemed as if the Huskies were messing with karma by breaking up their veteran line entering the season.
To be sure, Ale and Buelow move so well for their size they'll probably be paired together as Husky starting guards some day rather than continually battling each other for the same spot.
Alas, the position switch at left guard last weekend did not ultimately bring a UW victory in Corvallis.
With 3:18 left to play in the game and the score tied at 24, the Huskies went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 46 to go for the tie-breaker and the win.
Everyone was stacked inside when UW quarterback Dylan Morris took the snap and tried to sneak for that all-important first down — only he slid over and went over right guard.
Morris ran behind Henry Bainivalu, not Ale, and the junior guard ended up on his belly after bouncing through the pile-up of humanity without taking someone in an orange jersey with him. The Beavers got their hands on the Husky quarterback and won this battle, and ultimately the game, 27-24.
There's no reason to think that Ale won't be in there from the beginning as the starter against UCLA on October 16 at Husky Stadium. Karma would seem to indicate as much. Ulumoo, too, appears to have earned a reprieve.
The coaches now need to put him in a position to proceed.
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