Husky Roster Review: Faasolo Has Chance to Be Starting Tackle

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Jul 6, 2024 11:54 AM ET

As the University of Washington football team finds replacements for former starting offensive tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten -- both taken among the top 62 players in April's NFL Draft -- it has the potential to get bigger at these positions.

On the right side, San Diego State transfer Drew Azzopardi, a 6-foot-7, 308-pound sophomore, appears well entrenched, slightly taller and heavier than Rosengarten.

To the left, Soane Faasolo -- first name pronounced Swan-ee -- is a redshirt freshman who pulled more time in this spot than anyone else during spring ball. He currently goes a shade under 6-foot-8 and weighs 295 pounds on the way to 320, which is four inches and few dinner rolls at the training table more than Fautanu.

That's a lot of size to throw at a fellow Big Ten opponent when things get serious. They would become the biggest set of tackles since the Huskies stationed 6-foot-8, 314-pound Trey Adams and 6-foot-6, 320-pound Kaleb McGary on each end of the line throughout the 2016 CFP semifinals run.

However, Faasolo from East Palo Alto, California, has to show he's ready as the UW gives players such as fellow redshirt freshman Elishah Jackett and one-time Maryland transfer Maximus McCree chances to win the job, or maybe even sends another redshirt freshman, the ever versatile Zach Henning, into the competition. Jedd Fisch's staff notably chose not to bring in anyone else from the transfer portal as a tackle applicant.

"It's been great," Faasolo said at the Sugar Bowl, eager to keep going. "I've seen a lot of improvement out here since I got here. I've had a lot of experience with this, getting in the weight room, learning a lot of technique."

Skylar Lin Visuals

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

For the first spring practice, Azzopardi lined up at left tackle with Jackett on the right before they switched sides at the end of the workout.

By the third practice, Azzopardi and Faasolo were paired together as matching tackles, each getting snaps on each side of the line before Azzopardi became a permanent fixture in Rosengarten's old position.

Faasolo extra-large frame is impressive. Even close to 300 pounds, he looks lean, like he's capable of adding a lot more weight. He's a work in progress with his footwork, which is where Fautanu and Rosengarten greatly excelled up front, but that's not insurmountable.

The left tackle spot clearly is up for grabs, with Faasolo bigger and maybe better than the rest of the candidates. Just looking at him and Azzopardi and their big bodies might be unsettling enough for coming opponents.

Skylar Lin Visuals

SOANE FAASOLO FILE

What he's done: Faasolo played four seasons for Menlo-Atherton High School, which previously sent linebacker Daniel Heimuli and defensive tackle Noa Ngalu to the Huskies. He played both ways as a senior and was named his conference lineman of the year. He didn't appear in a Husky game in his first season.

Starter or not: Though still just a redshirt freshman, Faasolo easily could get the starting call at left tackle because he's much heavier than the other candidates. Jackett weighs just 271 and McCree 272. Of course, the Fisch staff could move someone else into the competition, but the man named Soane has a solid chance to advance.

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

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