Uiagalelei Expected to Receive Eligibility Ruling This Week

Defensive tackle Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei, seeking a fifth year of college football eligibility and a second season at the University of Washington, should receive a final determination on Thursday, Husky coach Jedd Fisch said.

Once the NCAA's new five-in-five eligibility rule was approved this past summer, UW kicker Grady Gross and Uiagalelei returned to school and rejoined the Huskies with fall camp under way after initially thinking they were done with the game.

However, each player has had to go to court in their home state to contest the governing body's added decision to not grandfather in players such as them who had completed four years of competition, suggesting it would create roster chaos.

Gross was the first to receive legal clearance in his native Arizona and has played in the past two UW games.

Uiagalelei has only practiced with the Huskies so far this season.

"We should know a final answer on that this week," Fisch said. "We should know something by, I believe, October 1st. That will be the final answer."

The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Uiagalelei started all 13 games for the Huskies in 2025 after playing three seasons for Arizona, though almost exclusively as an edge rusher in Tucson.

While regaining his eligibility, Gross has handled kickoff duties, which is what he did in 2022, by replacing Eastern Washington transfer Hunter McKee after the latter sent two out of three kickoffs out of bounds against his old school.

Ironically, Gross kicked his first one against Minnesota out of bounds, as well.

Gross, who handled all Husky place-kicking over the previous three seasons, hasn't been able to dislodge Texas State transfer Tyler Robles from that role. He wears No. 20 because Robles claimed his prior No. 95.

Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei (11) and Jacob Lane (48) played side by side for all 13 Husky games in 2025. | Dave Sizer photo

Uiagalelei, who teamed with fellow returning starter Elinneus Davis in 2025, will try to reclaim his starting spot from freshman Derek Colman-Brusa if he can get a positive ruling in his native California.

He wears No. 46 now because freshman edge rusher Ramzak Fruean claimed his No. 11 that he pulled on last season.

The NCAA now permits athletes to play for five full seasons over a five-year window that begins when they enroll in college or in the school year that follows their 19th birthday, depending on what comes first.

The new rule essentially removes all waivers that athletes had obtained in the past in order to extend their college careers because of injuries or other circumstances. Redshirting has become a thing of the past, as well.

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