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Vita Vea weighed a hefty 340 pounds, Danny Shelton 339 and Greg Gaines 322 when they anchored the University of Washington defensive line and made it somewhat impassible.
They were big bodies, who mixed girth with strength and plenty of attitude.
For the past two seasons, the Huskies lacked an imposing man mountain parked in the front row of their defense and paid dearly for it.
Last fall, they permitted seven 100-yard games to opposing rushers, two to Michigan alone. They enabled nearly 200 yards rushing on the average to a dozen teams.
Every weekend was a Husky yard sale if not a Montlake giveaway.
Looking to end this Saturday goodwill, Kalen DeBoer's new coaching staff has moved 6-foot-6, 355-pound Ulumoo Ale — the Pac-12's third-heaviest player behind UCLA's 6-foot-7, 395-pound offensive tackle Maximus Gibbs and Oregon's 6-foot-6, 360-pound offensive tackle Faaope Laloulu — from starting offensive guard to aspiring defensive down lineman, hoping to better reutilize the inherited resources.
It's a somewhat radical proposition, but it's better than just hoping for the best, which is what the Huskies did in 2021.
Ale, the artist formerly known as "M.J.," spent the previous four years at the UW doing his best to try and block people, and it didn't always work out. He was in and out of the starting lineup this past fall. He opened 10 games at left guard over two seasons. Now people will have to block him.
He last played defense in 2017 at Fife High School, north of Tacoma, earning South Puget Sound League Defensive of the Year honors the year before.
With new D-line coach Inoke Breckterfield in his ear, Ale will need to learn leverage techniques and be able to recognize offensive alignments, but DeBoer's staff is banking on getting the big man ready to go.
His mammoth size is a good place for DeBoer's Huskies to begin fixing things up front. This is a group that collectively has been undersized for a Power 5 team. Of the eight other defensive linemen on scholarship, Ale outweighs them from 40 to 80 pounds.
The since departed Taki Taimani actually provided ample bulk for the UW with his 6-foot-2, 330-pound body, but he played soft. Two years of starting gave a pretty indication that this once highly recruited player from Salt Lake City wasn't what he was advertised. He finished with zero sacks in four UW seasons and transferred out.
Oregon, his next destination, curiously thinks it can turn Taimani into someone more problematic for Pac-12 offenses. Yet that's ignoring the fact that he was still part of the Husky crew that got bent backward and gave up a generous 329 yards rushing to the Ducks in November, including 211 alone to running back Travis Dye, who's now at USC.
Short of finding a defensive tackle in the portal, the Huskies had to do something to get bigger up front. Returning junior starter Tuli Letuligasenoa, an All-Pac-12 honorable-mention selection, played at 300 pounds last season after carrying 336 as a freshman on his 6-foot-2 physique. He might consider a middle ground with his weight.
A four-game starter, sophomore Faatui Tuitele checks in at 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds while fellow sophomore Jacob Bandes, who started just once, is 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds.
Kuao Peihopa and Voi Tunuufi, who proved to be physically and mentally mature players last season as true freshmen, carry expectations of someday becoming steady playmakers. Yet they could stand to put on some size.
Peihopa goes 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds, while Tunuufi, who used his exceptional quickness to make a pair of rookie starts, played at 6-foot-1 and 275 pounds. The lighter Husky here eventually might be better suited as an edge-rushing candidate.
With Ale's position change, the new UW coaching staff clearly believes that bigger is better.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Husky Maven stories as soon as they’re published.
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