3 Huskies Poised to Become Starters Who Haven't Been

These UW players have run with their respective No. 1 units since spring practice began.

Dan Raley | Apr 9, 2022

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Washington Huskies

Everything has been taken up a notch for a University of Washington football team coming off a 4-8 season and a coaching change.

All players have been challenged to work out in the weight room with purpose, practice with passion and even sit in the front row of their classrooms while taking their educations seriously.

Kalen DeBoer and his staff have laid out a detailed diagram for the UW players to succeed, both in football and in school. Those who follow it are told to expect rewards. Those who don't will be weeded out.

A week into spring practice, practices have so much energy from beginning to end they practically leave on-lookers in the stands exhausted. Scrimmage plays move so fast, reporters have trouble identifying and copying down everyone who took part.

After five workouts, three players have drawn attention to themselves for their elevated status. They've been running through spring drills as starters so far where they haven't opened a game yet during their careers.

While a lot can change before opening kickoff against Kent State on Sept. 4, the following are Huskies who are trying to make big moves and land starting jobs this spring:

Alphonzo Tuputala

This guy arrived in 2019 with an inside linebacker class of Miki Ah You, Josh Calvert, Daniel Heimuli and himself. The others were each rated higher as recruits than him. Tall and mobile, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Tuputala, a sophomore from Federal Way, Washington, still got on the field before the others.

A year ago, however, Tuputala tore his Achilles heel in spring practice, costing him valuable practice time and half of the 2021 season. He lately has been running with the No. 1 defense since DeBoer commenced practice, lining up next to fellow sophomore Carson Bruener in the second row. He's seemingly unwilling to wait for Pittsburgh transfer Cam Bright to get adjusted to the UW or returning starter Edefuan Ulofoshio to bounce back from a knee injury that will cost him part of next season. It's his turn to shine.

Calvert and Ah You since have left the program and Heimuli is running with the second unit. Tuputala, who changed his number this spring from 40 to 11, is making yet another move for meaningful minutes. He hasn't started a UW game yet, but that could change.

"The one thing Alphonzo has done during this offseason is he's put in the work to make sure his body is where it needs to be to be his temple and it can be ready to perform," co-defensive coordinator William Inge said. "People are going to know who he is in six months."

Nate Kalepo

Regarded as the state's top line prospect coming out of Seattle's Rainier Beach High School in 2019, Kalepo seemed to get bogged down on the Husky depth chart. While waiting for older teammates to move on, he was in danger of getting passed over by the subsequent 2020 class of five promising and heavily recruited linemen.

Kalepo served as a back-up to Henry Bainivalu at right guard last season and has been running with the No. 1 offense at left guard since spring began. Three different players started at left guard in 2021, but Ulumoo Ale has moved to defense, Julius Buelow has shifted to left tackle and Troy Fautanu returned to left tackle.

While the new staff has insisted on players slimming down, Kalepo has remained right around 333 pounds, which appears to be a good playing weight for him. Once Ale reaches his prescribed weight of 330 in order to play defense, as set by the coaches, Kalepo, if he holds steady, will become the heaviest player on the roster. He could be a first-time starter once all this takes place.

Kuao Peihopa

This 6-foot-3, 304-pound Hawaiian arrived as a true freshman defensive tackle for spring practice a year ago ready to compete for playing time. He had the strength, the size and the temperament to be used right away. He wouldn't back down from anyone during a month of workouts, pushing back when pushed. However, the first-year player injured a foot that would bother him during spring practice and limit him throughout his first season.

Peihopa appeared in four games between his idle moments, preserving his redshirt status only because he wasn't always at full strength. The Huskies would have preferred to use him more than save him. He looks fully healthy now. DeBoer's staff has had him running with the No. 1 defense since opening up spring practice. If he can stay healthy, Peihopa could be hard to dislodge and the Huskies just might become stingy again when it comes to enabling rushing yards.

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Published Apr 9, 2022

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.