Tafai Waits in the Wings at Left Tackle, Ready to Play If Called

The big offensive lineman is having a better fall than spring football experience.

Kahlee Tafai is the heaviest Husky at 338 pounds. / Skylar Lin Visuals

During spring football, Kahlee Tafai was the one who suffered the most among the assembled University of Washington offensive linemen, dealing with an assortment of physical maladies that made him miss nearly as much time as he played.

One day on the back practice field, the redshirt freshman offensive tackle from Los Angeles dropped down on all fours and vomited violently on the sideline. Just a few feet away, a handful of wide-eyed Husky followers watched this big guy in considerable distress, either thrilled or repulsed by how close they were able to get to the players.

On another forgettable afternoon for him, Tafai crumpled to the ground in Dempsey Indoor in total agony with what appeared to be a knee sprain, writhing around on the artificial surface while he was surrounded by multiple trainers and eventually ushered to a triage area. Fortunately for him, he merely twisted rather than tore something and was able to resume later in the week.

Entering the second half of the season, Tafai supposedly is the healthy one now and the proverbial one play away from having to carry a hefty load at left tackle for the Huskies as they prepare to face unbeaten and 13th-ranked Indiana on the road.

With JC transfer and four-game starter Max McCree out with a dislocated thumb, Soane Faasolo, who opened the other three games at that position, has regained the spot while in less than 100 percent physical condition -- which means Tafai needs to continue to stand by and be ready if the Huskies need him.

Tafai, whose full name is pronounced "CAW-lee, TA-fy," had to play late in the game at Iowa in the Huskies' last outing after the 6-foot-6, 295-pound McCree had to come out and the 6-foot-8, 325-pound Faasolo followed him with own health issues.

"He's a gamer," sophomore left guard Landen Hatchett said of Tafai. "He goes out there and competes. He's really strong and physical. When he locks in and is doing his job, and when he gets in the zone, he's a good football player."

Max McCree (77) and Kahlee Tafai (71) warm up for the Apple Cup. / Skylar Lin Visuals

However, what appears to hold Tafai back some is his weight -- he lists out on the UW online roster at 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds, eight pounds fewer than his maximum this season. Even now, he's the second-heaviest Husky, lighter only than 6-foot-2, 368-pound defensive tackle Logan Sagapolu, and his coaches admittedly would like him a few biscuits smaller.

"Somewhere in the 20s," said Brennan Carroll, the UW offensive coordinator and line coach, referring to the 320 range. "It's not so much about the weight, it's more about his power weight, his proportion to his body. We like him a little less. We'll work through it."

Either way, Tafai, who's appeared briefly in three Husky games this season, is getting ever closer to having to throw his weight around and answer the call to duty.

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