Weight A Minute: UW Freshmen Were Bigger Than We Thought

After vacationing in Arizona, Dick Baird finally got his first look at the University of Washington football team this past week and the former Husky recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach came away a little stunned by what he saw.

While he was responsible in the past for bringing in good-sized offensive linemen who became All-American selections and NFL draftees -- Lincoln Kennedy comes to mind -- the girth of the freshmen currently running around in purple uniforms was something totally new to him.

"They're just huge," Baird said.

John Mills, Champ Taulealea and Jack Shaffer each are listed on the Husky roster weighing in the 320- to 330-pound range, which is ample but not necessarily the truth.

Champ Taulealea is one of the Huskies' oversized freshmen offensive linemen. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Earlier this winter, UW coach Jedd Fisch referred to them as all coming in as heavy as 340 pounds.

Rather than Fisch's number be an over-exaggeration, veteran leaders of the Husky offensive line on Saturday decided to set the record straight, insisting their younger teammates all arrived in the 350 to 360 range.

"No, let's not get it wrong, those were some massive dudes," said Kansas State transfer Carver Willis, who starts at left tackle and doesn't top 300 pounds. "Those are just massive men. No, that's new. Definitely different."

Said junior center Landen Hatchett, "It's kind of weird the three freshmen being the biggest guys in the room."

Hatchett went on to say that the newcomers, especially since spring ball opened, have leaned down considerably and become much more mobile, and that's been most impressive to him.

One of the more jarring moments of last season was Fisch sitting in a postgame interview at Penn State, after his team was manhandled 35-6, and acknowledging his guys were getting shoved around in the Big Ten because they was seriously undersized.

Consequently, Mills and Taulealea have been given ample opportunity to take snaps with the No. 1 offense this spring and will either play significantly or, if they're up to it, even start once the season begins.

Offensive-line coach Michael Switzer shared how he's had conversations with a number of his older players to let them know his could happen, so that no one is surprised by it

"With their size and power and strength that those guys have naturally, being that big, I've got to see if it's transferrable to this level," Switzer said. "Those guys and the physicality they bring to the room is something different than we've had, so I want to see what they can do."

Mills, in particular, has fit in because he brings this wild man look to the line, with long blond mullet flowing down his back.

Jack Shaffer is one of the three extra-large Husky freshmen. | UW

Should he and Landen Hatchett line up side by side, opponents might think they're facing medieval warriors.

"I like to call him Joe Dirt," Hatchett said. "I like to keep my hair more pretty than he does."

For now, the Huskies will continue to see how big and young they can get this season, with 16 different scholarship players competing for jobs, including those oversized freshmen trying to push their way into meaningful minutes.

"It's pretty shocking," Willis said of those extra-large linemen. "When I was an early enrollee as a freshman, I played at 255. ... We had four early enrollees and three of them were above 360. That's pretty nuts."

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