Inside The Huskies

If Anything Good Came Out of a Lost Night in Corvallis, It Was Taimani

The Husky D-lineman had three huge plays in the 27-24 setback.

Dan Raley

A loss usually dims any notable progress made by the University of Washington football team. Outside observers tend to seize only on the final outcome and nothing more. 

Husky coaches, however, break down the film in the aftermath of each game, good or bad, and study what took place and come away with a much better idea of what worked and what didn't. Amid the despair, they saw hope.

After falling to Oregon State 27-24 last Saturday night in Corvallis, the coaching staff arrived at one name in particular who showed significant personal advancement against the Beavers: sophomore defensive tackle Sam "Taki" Taimani.

"Taki, I think, played one of his best football games," UW coach Jimmy Lake said. "I'm shooting messages to my players every once and while and he was definitely one after I watched the film. Him taking on those double-teams; I mean, they're handing off the ball 50 times."

Taki Taimani readies himself for another play at OSU.
Taki Taimani and the Husky defense get ready for another fourth-down play / Dan Raley

Yet there was much more to this bouncy and sizable 6-foot-2, 330-pound defender from Salt Lake City than successful rounds of pushing and shoving.

Taimani was the guy leading the fierce pass rush who hit the arm of OSU quarterback Chance Nolan, causing him to heave a second-quarter interception directly to safety Asa Turner.

He was the opportunist who scooped up Nolan's fourth-quarter fumble, caused by fellow Husky defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele making instant contact with the QB, and he rumbled 13 yards with it to the OSU 6, setting up a Sean McGrew touchdown.

And Taimani, who finished with 9 tackles, which was second on the team only to linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio's 16, was the aggressor who sniffed out a Beavers' screen pass in that final period and dropped running back Deshaun Fenwick hard for a 5-yard loss.

"Taki played really well in a loss," Lake said.

For two seasons, Taimani has been the only constant on the Husky defensive line based on attendance alone, starting 9 consecutive games where everyone else has been in and out of the lineup.

In 2020, he was good enough to plug holes and get in everyone's way, but he didn't make a lot of tackles and finish off plays. He was partial player. That appears to be changing.

"I feel a lot stronger, I feel a lot faster," Taimani said in fall camp. "I am the same weight as I was last year, but I feel my body's tightened up a lot more. I feel more conditioned, I guess, being able to play as many snaps as I have to."

Taki Taimani, bottom right, strikes a pose with UW teammates. 

Taimani, originally a promising offensive lineman who picked the Huskies over Alabama, Notre Dame and a host of other high-profile schools, would make everyone happy if he could play his way into a lead role previously held by Danny Shelton, Vita Vea, Greg Gaines and Levi Onwuzurike, as that of an overly disruptive force. 

He's not there yet, but that doesn't mean he won't ever reach that level.

Jimmy Rodgers, the playmaking strong safety and captain for the UW's 1984 Orange Bowl team, remembers how first-team All-America defensive tackle Ron Holmes didn't begin to make big plays until he was junior and then they came nonstop.

Most everyone thought this might be a veteran Husky team full of finished products, but it's become clear that it's one still very much in development, especially on each side of the line. 

It was thought that sophomore Tuli Letuligasenoa might be the chief playmaker among the down linemen, but it appears that Tuitele and Taimani have made more recent strides.

Tuitele leads the team with 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles over five games, while Taimani is tied for fifth among the Huskies with 26 tackles, the most by any DT by 11. 

The latter is well aware it's time to keep going and become a more impactful player.

"Yeah, I do think it's time for us to make our legacy," said Taimani, who received a DT tutorial as a freshman from Gaines, now with the Los Angeles Rams. "I've been behind a lot of guys and I've seen their legacies. The one thing I've been focusing on this year is I want to make sure I separate myself."

It might sound cliche, but Taimani forever has been trying to make a name for himself. While his given moniker is Sam, he more often answers to Taki, a nickname placed on him by his grandfather in Utah. This Sam liked it so much he legally changed his middle name to it while in high school.

From the Oregon State game, team followers likely will remember only a disappointing 3-point loss that came on the final play of the game and the UW shortcomings that enabled it. 

Yet as careers evolve, it might be the night that Taimani took a significant step forward as a Husky playmaker.

"I have to be ready to set who I am," this player named Taki said, "and who I want to be known as a U-Dub D-lineman."

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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.

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