Inside The Huskies

Paki Finau Finds New Football Home In the Big 12

He played in 12 games and started four times for the Huskies in 2025.
Dan Raley|
Paki Finau played three positions in the UCLA game.
Paki Finau played three positions in the UCLA game. | Dave Sizer photo

Paki Finau transformed his body as a University of Washington freshman in 2024, adding a whopping 40 pounds to his frame.

He appeared in 12 games for the UW this past season, starting four times, which made him a seasoned player.

However, BYU will be the one to reap the benefits of this 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive guard after signing him on Monday, according to CBS Sports.

Of the 18 Huskies entered in the transfer portal, Finau was one of the handful of players who left and felt like a significant loss.

When he arrived two years ago, he was a 4-star recruit from Hesperia, California, in the high desert, and considered one of if the top players, if not the No. 1 guy, in the UW's 2024 recruiting class. He had 26 solid scholarship offers.

Finau originally signed with Kalen DeBoer's staff, then entered the transfer portal before deciding to give Jedd Fisch's new UW coaches a try. He knew them. He had visited with Fisch and Arizona in 2023 during his recruitment.

Paki Finau, Geirean and Landen Hatchett, John Mills, Drew Azzopardi, Soane Faasolo, Quentin Moore and Kade Eldridge celebrate
From left, the UW's Paki Finau, Geirean and Landen Hatchett, John Mills, Drew Azzopardi, Soane Faasolo, Quentin Moore and Kade Eldridge celebrate an Apple Cup win. | Dave Sizer photo

However, he was on his third different offensive-line coach in three years since going through UW recruitment, so maybe the situation just didn't work out for him after all.

There's also a good chance he was going to have to come off the bench again this coming fall ,with starting guards John Mills and Geirean Hatchett both returning to claim their spots, and it's possible he didn't want to wait any longer to solidify a spot.

BYU must have made a much bigger impression on Finau this time, too, because the Cougars weren't one of his most ardent pursuers coming out of high school.

Paki Finau in his much skinnier days as a UW freshman.
Paki Finau in his much skinnier days as a UW freshman. | Skylar Lin Visuals

According to 247Sports, he visited Washington, Penn State and Arizona, but didn't tour BYU, when initially choosing where to go.

In time, Finau likely would have been a full-time starter for the Huskies, but apparently it was just too far down the road.

With his now 50-pound weight gain, he seems like a finished product as an offensive lineman on the college level, though with some guys they lose mobility after putting on so many pounds in such a short amount of time.

BYU will be the one to size him up this year, see how he moves around and determine if he's ready and able to be a first-team player on its No. 1 offensive line.

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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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