UW Fresh Start (No. 15): Photo Showed How Much Heimuli Cares

Postgame Colorado image captured the linebacker perfectly.

Jimmy Lake learned he was fired with two games remaining. The athletic department terminated offensive coordinator John Donovan with three contests left to play. Reserve linebacker M.J. Tafisi and place-kicker Tim Horn bailed on the team and transferred midstream.

Last November, a fair question to ask was whether anyone involved still remained emotionally invested in a beleaguered University of Washington football team or were they just playing out the string?

A photo of Daniel Heimuli answered that and more.

It showed the inside linebacker hunched over following a 20-17 defeat at Colorado, in obvious despair, hardly detached from the disappointment of his college football experience falling in total disarray.

Heimuli is one of those players where a super-human performance was expected from him almost immediately following his Montlake arrival — solely because he chose the UW over Alabama and Oregon during a concentrated recruiting process.

Still just a sophomore, the 6-foot, 225-pound defender from East Palo Alto, California, has progressed through the program at a normal rate of development. He's learned there's much more to his position than just putting a hat on a defenseless opponent. He's started twice.

Daniel Heimuli shows his despair over losing at Colorado :: Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports

A month and a half until spring practice, we're offering gathered intel and observations on the UW football personnel in a series of stories on every scholarship player from No. 0 to 99. We'll review each Husky's previous starting experience, if applicable, and determine what comes next under new coach Kalen DeBoer.

As is the case with any coaching change, it's a new football beginning for everyone, including for the Huskies' No. 15 on the defense.

Having played a dozen games over two seasons, Heimuli made his first college start last September against Arkansas State, replacing a banged-up Edefuan Ulofoshio. It was low-key day for him with the Huskies enjoying their only dominant performance of the season, winning 52-3. He had a lone tackle. 

Bear Down / UW Athletics

Daniel Heimuli (15) runs out to face Cal.

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Backers Meet Up / Dan Raley

Daniel Heimuli and his fellow LBs meet at the end of practice. 

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Drill Bit / UW Athletics

Daniel Heimuli runs through a spring drill. 

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Four games later, Heimuli drew another game-opening assignment at Arizona, stepping in again for Ulofoshio, at the time out for the season with an arm injury. The understudy came up with 8 tackles in his best showing yet in what proved to be a 21-16 victory in Tucson.

However, Heimuli sat out the next two games and came off the bench for the final three with no explanation, other than legacy player Carson Bruener was now the starter and, as it turns out, a budding star. He was either banged up or simply got passed by a rising teammate.

With a new coaching staff in place, the Northern California native gets to sell himself all over again. Show DeBoer's guys why the SEC made such a strong pitch for him. Hold his own in what stands to be a highly competitive position area. Start again.

UW Starter or Not: Heimuli is one of five inside backers with significant game experience, joining a healthy Ulofoshio, who was a 2020 second-team All-Pac-12 selection; Pittsburgh transfer Cam Bright, who captained his ACC entry; Bruener, who showed he can make a lot of things happen; and the underrated Alphonzo Tuputala, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound sophomore who's appeared in 13 games over three seasons, in and around a torn Achilles tendon, and holds considerable promise. Heimuli stands to play, but the competition just got a little tougher with Bright's arrival and Bruener's maturation. Expect him to remain in a reserve role maybe until he's a senior.

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