Inside The Huskies

Enokk Vimahi Further Solidifies Himself as UW O-Line Presence

The Ohio State transfer has started three Husky games without a hitch.

Dan Raley

Giles Jackson and Enokk Vimahi share an Apple Cup moment.
Giles Jackson and Enokk Vimahi share an Apple Cup moment. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Enokk Vimahi was supposed to be a question mark on the University of Washington offensive line, not a pillar.

After all, he had experienced a somewhat checkered career at Ohio State over five seasons, playing often as a reserve but mostly in snippets.

In Columbus, he drew 100 game snaps for the Buckeyes, with many of them on special teams and even on defense.

At the UW, he reached 102 snaps all as the starting right guard in just two outings and there have been no complaints.

In fact, this week the 6-foot-4, 305-pound native of Kahuku, Hawaii, was included on ESPN's list of transfer portal September surprises, further demonstrating his newfound football comfort in Montlake.

Across the Husky offensive line, Maryland and JC transfer Max McCree has spelled redshirt freshman left tackle Soane Faasolo and sophomore Landen Hatchett, nearing the point time-wise where his knee injury should be fully recovered, has alternated with both left guard Gaard Memmelaar and center D'Angalo Titialii.

Only right tackle Drew Azzopardi and Vimahi have pulled an uninterrupted work load at their respective positions throughout the first three games, and the Husky coaching staff has been generous in its praise of the former Buckeye.

"You just don't know sometimes," UW coach Jedd Fisch said of finding a comfort zone. "Maybe 'Knock' will have an unbelievable year with us and that will give him a chance."

Vimahi now prepares for his return to Big Ten play, specifically a Saturday afternoon encounter with Northwestern that will serve as the UW's entry into a new league and the offensive guard's opportunity to show that he finally belongs.

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

Published
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.

Home/Football