Inside The Huskies

Paki Finau May Add To HIs Resume With Start At Right Tackle

The redshirt freshman could replace the injured Drew Azzopardi against Purdue.
Dan Raley|
Paki Finau has started two games at guard for the UW and could open at tackle against Purdue.
Paki Finau has started two games at guard for the UW and could open at tackle against Purdue. | Dave Sizer photo

University of Washington offensive linemen typically have to grind to play regularly. They first get to know the Husky weight room on a more intimate basis than Husky Stadium. They enter into development, where certain strength and size levels are mandatory. In their early years, they lift and sit.

Except in the case of John Mills, who showed up as a freaky freshman pushing 365 pounds, was thinned down some and then simply unleashed on the masses on game day.

No, the more standard approach to becoming a fixture on the Husky offensive line is what's happening with Paki Finau, who was the most touted 2024 line recruit coming in and has been on a comfortable pace to establish himself.

On Saturday against Purdue, the 6-foot-5, 310-pound redshirt freshman from Hesperia, California, could be used as the starter at right offensive tackle for the Huskies, as an injury replacement for junior Drew Azzopardi, this after Finau played much of the second half against Wisconsin there.

"I thought Paki stepped in and did a really nice job," UW coach Jedd Fisch said..

Paki Finau put on 40-plus pounds after arriving as a UW freshman.
Paki Finau put on 40-plus pounds after arriving as a UW freshman. | Dave Sizer photo

This would come after Finau opened two games at left offensive guard for the aforementioned Mills, who suffered a high-ankle sprain at Maryland and had to mend from that.

Which means that Finau, who's gained 40-plus pounds since joining the program, is on somewhat of an accelerated pace himself, though not quite like Mills, to become a Husky mainstay up front.

While not dismissing the merits of this season, the college football fortune tellers all along have felt the Huskies will be poised for a bigger year in 2026.

Demond Williams Jr. will be a much more seasoned quarterback, likely less prone to turning the ball over on his own 7, as he did at Wisconsin.

The defense will have had a year under defensive coordinator Ryan Walters' leadership to chew on a bunch of glass and become a more fearsome unit.

Paki Finau, far left, shares in an Apple Cup win with other UW offensive linemen.
Paki Finau, far left, shares in an Apple Cup win with other UW offensive linemen. | Dave Sizer photo

And Mills will be in full monster truck mode, likely moving to left tackle and running over everyone out there, which means it will be time for Finau to settle in at left guard next to him and start for the next three seasons.

Finau is one of six redshirt or true freshmen who have started for the Huskies this season, with first-year linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale proving to be a star in the making and on the cusp of drawing a game-opening assignment soon, and the payoff for all of this is not far off.

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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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