The Washington Huskies’ inexperience along the offensive line showed up all over the field as they lost 31-17 on the road to the No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers. It felt like the Indiana defense was in the backfield throughout the game, sacking quarterback Will Rogers three times and contacting running back Jonah Coleman before he could get going.
The issues were compounded without left tackle Maximus McCree, who suffered a dislocated thumb in Washington’s loss at Iowa and missed Saturday’s. According to coach Jedd Fisch, he could miss another week or two while recovering from the injury, leaving the position to redshirt freshmen Soane Faasolo and Kahlee Tafai, who saw plenty of action in Bloomington.
“We were looking for stuff that was going to work,” Fisch said of his offensive line rotation after the game. “Right now, we’ve got three guys along the offensive line who are in their second year of playing college football with Landen Hatchett, with Soane, and with Kahlee Tafai. Those guys need opportunities, those guys need reps, those guys need to see how good they can get.”
In the first significant reps of his career, Tafai performed admirably. He received an 82.1 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest on the team, and showed offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll that he could be a useful building block for the Huskies down the stretch.
The Huskies appeared to have a much easier time moving the ball with Tafai in the game, as both of their touchdown drives in Bloomington came with him at left tackle. He also made a key block on Coleman’s longest run of the day, a 46-yard carry, and could be in line for a bigger workload going forward, maybe even a starting spot in McCree’s absence.
“We’re not at a spot where we can declare the five guys we’re ready to go with,” he told Washington’s play-by-play broadcaster Tony Castricone after the game about the team’s next matchup with USC.
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