Well-Worn Tuitele Calls It a UW Career as Roster Exodus Increases

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated 1/11/24

These University of Washington football players, in enjoying a program resurgence under Kalen DeBoer, just played 15 games in a season, 28 over the past 27 months since his coaching staff took over.

That's a lot of major wear and tear on a college player's body, especially when they'll be the first to tell you that most on-field collisions at this level are like car accidents.

So it should be no surprise that Faatui Tuitele announced he's not coming back. In declaring he was done on Wednesday night, the Husky defensive tackle didn't declare his intentions to try the NFL. Didn't say he was entering the transfer portal. Didn't leave any hints that he would play again.

The 6-foot-3, 317-pound Tuitele, after five seasons, 43 games played, 25 starts and more than 1,200 snaps after arriving in Montlake from Honolulu, Hawaii, appears to have simply retired from football with a season of college eligibility.

An interesting personality, Tuitele always looked and sounded so much older than a college student, resembling someone many years past graduation.

On Wednesday, he was one of six Huskies to announce his program departure after cornerback Jaivion Green and walk-on linebacker Austin Harnetiaux entered the transfer portal and offensive lineman Troy Fautanu, wide receiver Jalen McMillan and edge rusher Bralen Trice all declared they would enter the NFL draft.

Tuitele came to the Huskies as one of their highest-rated recruits in 2019 after fielding 36 scholarship offers, according to 247sports. Besides the UW, his suitors included Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee and USC.

He played right away as a freshman in 2019 and a redshirt freshman in 2020, appearing in four games each season and starting once.

The injuries began bog down Tuitele in 2021 when he started nine games but tore a pectoral muscle, forcing him to sit out the final three games while Jimmy Lake was fired as coach and missed them, as well.

DeBoer's staff made him a 13-game starter in their first season in Montlake, but Tuitele came out of it so beat up he basically sat out all of spring football practice last April.

This season, he was in and out of the lineup throughout the season with different ailments, missing games against Tulsa and Michigan State, before finishing his career with 32 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Now it's time to heal.

This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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