Huskies Offer SoCal Lineman as Defender Where Others See Blocker

Tavake Tuikolovatu has had his recruiting stock take off in a year's time.

Tavake Tuikolovatu had no scholarship offers when his junior schoolboy football season ended last year. He has seven now. He's just getting started. 

He's a 6-foot-6, 300-pound two-way lineman from the Class of 2023 for Summit High School in Fontana, California, which is east of Los Angeles.

Most schools view Tuikolovatu as an aspiring offensive tackle. Leave it to Kalen DeBoer's University of Washington coaches, always thinking outside the box — see Husky linemen Jeremiah Martin and Geirean Hatchett and their recent unusual assignments — to see something different.

Such as a Vita Vea-like body across the front, taking up a lot of defensive space.

On Thursday, Tuikolovatu received his offer from the UW and singled out recruiting director Courtney Morgan and co-defensive coordinator William Inge in his social-media announcement. 

Tuikolovatu had zero offers a year ago, but he's apparently a big kid who's beginning to mature physically and recruiters like what they see.

His video highlights show him coming off the line with impressive quickness for someone so large and able to shed blockers.

So far this season for a 5-4 SkyHawks team, he has 35 tackles, including 6 for lost yards, plus 3 for sacks, 6 quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Washington State was the first to offer Tuikolovatu last summer, followed by Utah before this season began and California and Oregon State last month.

Recently, UCLA, Oklahoma State and the Huskies have made their scholarship pitches one after the other.

With the Huskies going through a bye week and a limited practice schedule, nearly all of the UW coaches have been on the road this week, watching games and being noticed. They can't contact any prospects, but they can show their interest to players who have committed and others they're pursuing such as Tuikovovatu.

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