UW Informed Laiatu Latu He Would Never Play Again — It Wasn't True

The former Husky edge rusher was just named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.

Edge rusher Laiatu Latu and coach Kalen DeBoer passed each other going in and out the door at the University of Washington, and the new Husky football leader didn't know any of this at the time.

On Friday night at the Rose Bowl, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Latu will face his former teammates — apparently all healed from a neck injury that ended his career in Seattle — when UCLA hosts the Huskies in a game of unbeaten teams that will be televised nationally by ESPN. 

What everyone will see is a talented player from Sacramento, California, who appeared in 12 of 13 UW games as a true freshman in 2019, hurt his neck in practice the next fall and was told he would never play again.

That, of course, wasn't true at all.

On Monday, the rejuvenated Latu received Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors for his 3-sack performance in last weekend's 45-17 victory over Colorado, his fourth game since joining UCLA. He's the league leader in sacks with 5, a half sack more than the UW's Bralen Trice.

Only recently did DeBoer learn of Latu and his past connection to the Huskies. Last December, the two never met or had any communication when the coach was hired and the player entered the transfer portal.

"I didn't even really realize what was going on until once we started the season, or very close to it, that he was a player who played here and had moved on," DeBoer said. "He's certainly a guy who's making a lot of plays and one we have to be very aware of."

Laiatu Latu sacks California quarterback Chase Garbers in 2019 :: Jennifer Buchanan/USA TODAY Sports

Eighteen months ago, former UW coach Jimmy Lake opened his first spring practice press briefing by announcing that Latu had medically retired. Or to be more accurate, the school had retired him. 

No one in the Seattle-are media had any idea that Latu's career had come into question, only that he was injured and been unable to play in the Huskies' four-game, pandemic-restricted season.

A somber Lake told how the school arranged for Latu to meet with five specialists nationwide, who in a consensus opinion determined it was not safe for him to play again. He had suffered numbness in his neck that wasn't alleviated by surgery. The medical personnel suggested Latu risked being paralyzed if he continued playing football.

"We exhausted every professional we could think of to make sure this was the proper decision," Lake said at the time.

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Latu retained his UW scholarship, continued to take classes and attended Husky practices and games though last season. He often was seen throwing a football with an injured Zion Tupuola-Fetui on the sideline during spring workouts.

He originally picked the UW over UCLA because he was enamored with former coach Chris Petersen. He was considered the prize player of the Huskies' 2019 recruiting class.

"Really, it was coach Pete that brought me to U-Dub," Latu said. "All his philosophies and what he preached to me when I was being recruited really captured me and I don’t regret going to U-Dub at all because I learned a lot of good things there and good things from coach Pete that I still bring with me today."

Latu left school and entered the transfer portal once Lake's coaching staff was let go following the Apple Cup against Washington State and while DeBoer and his coaches were brought in.

Laiatu Latu has a football in his hands as a Husky practice spectator / Dan Raley

One of the UW assistant coaches who had exited was Ikaika Malloe, the former Husky safety and linebacker, and someone who would be hired on the rebound by UCLA.

Malloe stayed personally connected to Latu and even tried to help him launch a career as a firefighter with the Seattle Fire Department.

The coach arranged for Latu to come to UCLA, but under certain restrictions. He met with the training staff and was prescribed exercises to strengthen his neck. If he was able to play football again, Latu was encouraged to tackle without using his head.

In the Bruins' spring practice, he was limited to individual drills. Yet at the end of April before the drills wrapped up, Latu received a doctor's clearance to play again. 

"It's up to the institution and physicians have a job to do, and they have to deem what's right for that person in their mind," DeBoer said. "Different places and different doctors will have different findings on that limit, and I've been at other places where the same thing happens both ways."

On the eve of this season, Latu announced on social media that he was cleared to play in football games for UCLA. The Huskies are next up for him.

So far, so good, with his neck. 

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