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Inside The Huskies

Fautanu Signs with Steelers, Makes His Dreams Come True

The former Husky offensive tackle was drafted with the 20th overall pick.
Dan Raley|
Husky tackle Troy Fautanu shows off his physicality at the NFL Combine.
Husky tackle Troy Fautanu shows off his physicality at the NFL Combine. | Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As a blue-collar football player taking his game to a blue-collar town, Troy Fautanu broke this mold on Monday by becoming a man of means -- agreeing to a four-year contract from the Pittsburgh Steelers worth an estimated $15 million, with a signing bonus of $7.7 million, according to Over The Cap.

The former University of Washington offensive tackle was the 20th overall pick in the recent NFL Draft, going as the sixth linemen selected.

He joins a storied pro football franchise that previously has relied on Husky linemen to become starters for multiple Super Bowl-bound Steelers teams in retired offensive tackle Ray Pinney and late center Ray Mansfield.


“We're excited to have him as a member of this organization,” general manager Omar Khan said in a team release. “We spent a great deal of time with him. We met with Troy at the Combine. We had him in here as a 30 visit. We are excited to have him here."

The 6-foot-4, 317-pound Fautanu from Las Vegas was a two-year starter and twice a first-team All-Pac-12 selection for the UW who permitted just two sacks over 1,161 snaps in that time. This past season, he won the Morris Trophy as the top offensive lineman in the Pac-12.

On draft day, Fautanu chose to watch everything unfold from Nevada surrounded by family members and he grew tearful when Pittsburgh chose him. As a kid, he wore Steelers gear showing he was a fan.

Extremely mobile and physical, Fautanu has plenty of footage showing him running down the line and pancaking opponents. The Steelers had him singled out all along.

“He was one of the guys that we were hoping would be there and that we were targeting -- he's the player we wanted," Khan said.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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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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