Sizing Up Ulumoo Ale, the Huskies' Biggest Player
A woman clutching a video camera follows Ulumoo Ale up a cement ramp and onto the University of Washington practice field, for effect squatting and shooting this oversized man from the ground level up.
She could capture the junior offensive left guard from any angle and get the same result.
Ale is huge.
He blocks out the sun at 6-foot-6 and 365 pounds, at 15 more pounds than last season.
This is his listed UW roster weight, which means he could be 10 or more heavier than that at any time, depending on what they're serving for lunch in the athletic facilities on any particular afternoon.
The question to ask though, is this: is Ale too heavy?
"He's in pretty good shape," Husky offensive-line coach Scott Huff said. "As you can see, he's a big dude."
Ale is one of five returning starters from last season, which is a first for the UW in six decades since Jim Owens' back-to-back, Rose Bowl-winning teams.
That said, this player from Fife, Washington, by way of Australia and Samon is the one the Huskies are trying to motivate the most to step up his game.
He's the only one from last season's first-team quintet that also includes Jaxson Kirkland, Luke Wattenberg, Henry Bainivalu and Victor Curne who wasn't singled out for all-league honors of some sort.
Ale is one of the first to share his position with someone else this spring, on Wednesday stepping aside for 6-foot-6, 340-pound sophomore Nate Kalepo at left guard. Ale is No. 68 in the video here, Kalepo No. 71.
While player shuffling is automatic for football practice in April, this sort of move is meant to get a player's attention.
The Husky coaching staff doesn't want Ale just settling for him becoming a starter. They want him to use that enormous size to destroy defenders, to open up huge holes, to become a first-team All-Pac-12 selection such as Kirkland.
It will be interesting to see how he carries his weight from here on out. UW players such as offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy and two-way tackle Jordan White-Frisbee played around 370 and became 400-pound men later in life, with both trying to lose their extra girth now. Morgan Rosborough reported at 390 as a defensive tackle more than a decade ago.
Ale brings interesting size to the Huskies, too. It's just up to him to make every pound count for something productive.
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