Inside The Huskies

Tuitele Not Done with UW Football, Will Assist in Recruiting Efforts

The defensive tackle from Hawaii finished up his playing career in the national title game.
Dan Raley|
Faatui Tuitele prepares to Michigan in the CFP title game.
Faatui Tuitele prepares to Michigan in the CFP title game. | Skylar Lin Visuals

As Jedd Fisch sent the University of Washington football team through his first spring practice in early April, Faatui Tuitele was a solitary figure standing on the sideline, watching it all unfold. Former teammates spotted him right away and ran up to acknowledge his presence, to slap hands or touch his shoulder.

Tuitele was three months removed from playing in his final Husky outing, after starting at defensive tackle against Michigan in the CFP championship game. He had another season of college football eligibility remaining, which would have been his sixth, but Tuitele announced he was done playing, apparently too physically spent to continue on.

On Thursday, however, the 6-foot-3 , 317-pound Honolulu native showed you can take the player out of the UW program, but you can't really take the program out of the player -- Tuitele announced he will be assisting UW football recruiting efforts, keeping him connected to his old team.

Tuitele appeared in 43 games for the Huskies, starting 24, including all 13 during the 2022 season. He dealt with a lingering pectoral injury that required surgery and left him sidelined at times. He finished with 32 career tackles, including 3.5 sacks, and had 5 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.

He played three times against Fisch's Arizona teams, starting against them in 2022 and 2021, and coming off the bench this past season in Tucson.

Faatui Tuitele strip sacks Oregon State Beavers quarterback Chance Nolan in 2021.
Faatui Tuitele strip sacks Oregon State Beavers quarterback Chance Nolan in 2021. | Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Raised in the projects on the islands, the big Hawaiian was always a striking Husky personality when interacting with the media because he looked and sounded a lot older than he was, offering a very mature outlook on himself and his football situation.

Considering all that, Tuitele should represent the UW well as he facilitates the football recruiting efforts, which require a lot of invested hours from several people sifting through the high school and transfer portal ranks for talent.

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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