Husky Roster Review: Champ Taulealea Looks Like a Winner

For the third University of Washington spring football practice, and first conducted in pads, the Huskies emerged from the locker room and were greeted by a crazy scene.

High school coaches were everywhere, lined up around the field. They chattered away while eyeballing everything going on in front of them. They were in the house for a clinic as well as this Saturday workout.

A helicopter, unrelated to the football activities, buzzed Husky Stadium that was glistening in the sunshine. Float planes flew high overhead. Commercial airliners passed even higher above.

With so much going on, the visiting coaches might not have noticed that in the middle of all of this early April mayhem was freshman offensive guard Champ Taulealea receiving his first big audition of the spring.

The 6-foot-5, 330-pound newcomer was inserted at right guard when the No. 1 offense came out to run scrimmage plays.

You simply can't go wrong with a guy named Champ. After all, Muhammad Ali used to refer to himself as just that. It conotates winning.

Taulealea looked like a warrior, with his braided black hair protruding out of the back of his helmet and covering part of his jersey No. 73. His extra-large physique was unusual for a first-year player.

He wore large black braces on each knee, white gloves on his hands. He traded vigorous hand slaps at times with offensive analyst Caleb Wilson.

Champ Taulealea waits his turn on the East practice field. | Skylar Lin Visuals

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

Taulealea seemed to hold up well as he went through the paces with left tackle Carver Willis, left guard Paki Finau, center Landen Hatchett and right tackle Drew Azzopardi.

He and fellow freshman John Mills, both guards, were singled out for starting reps with the Huskies, as the only newcomers granted first-unit elevation.

"I had discussions with a lot of guys in the room -- I'm going to give those guys a shot," UW line coach Michael Switzer said in the spring. "Both of those guys have done some really nice things and show some flashes."

Taulealea was the first of the two to have a trial run, while Mills came out as the first-unit left guard for practice No. 4.

When one of them wasn't with the No. 1 offense, the two were paired together with the second unit.

Champ Taulealea and Soane Faasolo, a couple of Bay Area guys, leave the field in deep discussion. | Dan Raley

Coach Jedd Fisch said those freshmen stand to be big contributors right awy, with one or both of them possibly in contention to start.

They've showed plenty of talent. At their age, it just comes down to how often they can play at that level. Doing things right, rather than just showing off physicality, is the bottom line.

"You can't just have a good play here and a good play there," Switzer said. "You have to have consistency throughout."

Once they draw game starting assignments, whenever that might be, Taulealea and Mills likely won't be coming out of the lineup and could be paired together for a long time.

CHAMP TAULEALEA FILE

What he's done: Taulealea was a four-year starter for Valley Christian School in the San Jose area, a multiple all-state selection, an offensive lineman of the year and an advanced player. The Huskies brought in the California native intending to use him right away.

Starter or not: He'll start at some point. For the UW Spring Game, he went out with the purple team and was paired with projected starters in left tackle Willis, Finau and young Hatchett, plus right tackle Max McCree, who was a second-teamer and former starter. Anything goes for the guy named Champ in fall camp.

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