Huskies Have One Letuligasenoa, Are Pursuing Smaller Version
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Letuligasenoa is the longest name on the University of Washington football roster, all 13 letters and seven syllables of it.
It belongs, of course, to 6-foot-1, 307-pound Tuli, the Huskies' starting defensive tackle for the past two years, a senior who has announced his return for yet another college football season and someone who Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff considers to be an absolute warrior on the field.
A week ago, the UW offered a football scholarship to Bronx "Boogie" Letuligasenoa, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound freshman edge rusher and tight end from San Diego's St. Augustine High School, and a prospect already getting a lot of attention at a young age.
It took a week to verify all of this with a family member, but, yes, Tuli and Boogie are first cousins.
Their respective dads are Soli and Tripler.
Tuli is from Northern California, Boogie from SoCal.
They're nine years different in age and nearly 100 pounds apart in football playing weight.
"It's in the genes," said Tripler Letuligasenoa, Boogie's dad and Tuli's uncle. "Some are linemen and some are skinny linemen."
This latest Letuligasenoa burst onto the scene this past fall for the St. Augustine Saints and was named first-team All-Western League. He finished with 54 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, a pass break-up, a forced fumble and a pair of interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown, for a 4-8 team.
And then the scholarship offers began rolling in for the 15-year-old with the long, melodic name, first from San Diego State and then from the UW, California and Colorado State.
"It's just a blessing to get a look like that," Tripler Letuligasenoa said of the Huskies' interest in his son. "It's unheard of for a freshman to field a scholarship like that."
Tripler Letuligasenoa was a football player himself, a defensive tackle for Chabot College and Southwest Oklahoma State University, and more of a bigger body like Tuli. Soli Letuligasenoa, Tuli's dad, played high school football in Germany.
Yet one of their cousins, Tony Letuligasenoa, was a running back for the University of New Mexico before working for Alaska Airlines, moving to Fairbanks, Alaska, and becoming a prolific home-run hitter in the summer months in softball (Editor's note: As a young sports editor for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, I wrote a big story about Tony).
Tripler Letuligasenoa said the family plan is to attend the UW-USC football game in Los Angeles this next November and watch Tuli play against the Trojans.
With that overtime name, there was no way all of these guys weren't related.
"With Tuli at Washington, we still watch what he does and we make sure we see him every once in a while," Tripler Letuligasenoa said. "Rarely do you see anyone with that name."
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