Peihopa Will Determine Whether New Staff Has Fixed Interior D-Line
As more than 100 players went through the paces of University of Washington spring football in 2021, former Husky recruiting coordinator Dick Baird wanted to talk about just one.
Baird was merely an interested spectator now, rather than a paid talent sleuth, but he was still working it. Still offering his impressions. Still getting excited when he saw someone unusually skilled show off his ability.
He picked out true freshman defensive tackle Kuao Peihopa, who just so happened to walk by him at that very moment at the East practice field.
"Keep doing what you're doing," Baird said to him respectfully.
"Thank you, sir," Peihopa responded, not totally sure who he was speaking with.
Unfortunately, this kid who had graduated early from his Hawaiian high school and arrived in Seattle physically ready to mix it up with anyone and everyone, injured a foot and sort of disappeared from the main competition.
Consequently, Peihopa wasn't able to do what players before him such as Danny Shelton, Vita Vea and Greg Grimes had done — play fearlessly and confidently, and establish himself as a steady contributor to the Huskies right from the beginning.
With fall camp three and a half weeks out, we're breaking down each Husky starting position and penciling out a depth chart across the board before the pads come on.
After examining the competition at the two edge-rusher positions, we work our way inside to the defensive tackles.
A redshirt freshman now after making four scattered game appearances last fall with his healing foot, Peihopa proceeded to win over Kalen DeBoer's staff this past spring just as he had the previous coaches and, of course, Dick Baird.
Kuao Peihopa always has been in a big hurry to get on the field.
Dan Raley
Asked about Peihopa's progress in April, DeBoer first thanked his inquisitor for bringing up the young kid's name. He then went down a laundry list of attributes for this player.
"Physically, he's in there and he's just causing problems," the new coach said. "He's tough. He can move. He plays hard."
A year later, Peihopa looks ready to do what he might have done for Jimmy Lake.
Following is one half of the UW defensive-tackle depth chart at defensive tackle, one of two position areas for the Huskies that needed an overhaul once the team went 4-8, changed coaches and called in a forensics team to determine what when wrong.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
1) Kuao Peihopa, 6-3, 304, R-Fr., Makakilo, Hawaii
2) Faatui Tuitele, 6-3, 308, Soph., Honolulu, Hawaii
3) Ulumoo Ale, 6-6, 344, Jr., Tacoma
4) Jacob Bandes, 6-2, 295, Soph., Pittsburg, Calif.
5) Armon Parker, 6-3, 284, Fr., Detroit
By now, it's clear that one of the glaring drawbacks for last season's UW team that didn't come close to meeting expectations was this: The Huskies were overly soft in some positions in the trenches, on both sides of the ball, and we got that from someone who should know. They lacked enough out-and-out brawlers. Guys ready to go off at any time on the opposition.
Hence, you will see new faces this next season who will be entrusted with moving people off the ball rather than be moved.
Peihopa is one of them. He's naturally strong, which is always an advantage to earning extended playing time. Mostly, he plays with that crazed glint in his eye that all of the intimidators have. He also met with reporters for the first time during the spring and entertained them with his devil-may-care attitude.
DeBoer and his staff had to be more than a little surprised when they found him on the roster, somewhat unused with four seasons of eligibility still awaiting him.
Peihopa wasn't more than a handful of spring practices into his Husky football career in 2021 when he got into it with veteran offensive guard Nate Kalepo in the middle of a morning workout. They sort of pushed on each like a pair of burly grizzly bears before violently swatting at each other like some really angry grizzlies, and needed to be separated.
Just keep doing what you're doing, Peihopa still hears echoing through his head.
Though players can be fluid from one D-line position to the other, we have Tuitele in a back-up role here. The Husky coaches only know him by his game film because he missed all of spring ball with his own foot injury.
While starting just four games and having his season end early for his health reasons, Tuitele tied for the team lead in sacks with 3. He provides depth and he's still just a sophomore.
Beyond that, Ale is a converted offensive guard, where he started 10 games over two seasons, and he's now become the incredibly shrinking man. He's listed at 344, down from 368, which made him the Pac-12's second heaviest player. His resulting playing time this season will determine how well he's made the switch.
Bandes is a former 4-star recruit who's played in 16 games and started one, and is still just a sophomore.
Parker arrives as a true freshman and part of a twin combo, with him and his brother fairly physically developed.
Conclusion: Peihopa was part of the perfect storm of things that went wrong for the Huskies in 2021, with only injuries holding him back and he was needed. All eyes will be on him now to see how well he matches the fanfare surrounding him. He's first up here, with all of the other guys still trying to re-establish themselves as players with a new staff.
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