It may have gone unnoticed in the moment by some Washington Huskies fans, but Jonah Coleman’s first touch of the game, where he took a handoff from quarterback Will Rogers for 10 yards and ran over future first-round pick Will Johnson in the process, he had an interesting lead blocker.
Defensive lineman Voi Tunuufi was lined up as a fullback on the play and came downhill on a wham block against another future first-round pick, defensive tackle Kenneth Grant. That block allowed Coleman the necessary space to bounce the run outside and turn it into a first down.
When asked if Tunuufi’s usage on offense was due to the Huskies being down to just two scholarship tight ends, he said no.
Instead, to quote Heath Ledger’s Joker, it was about sending a message.
“We wanted him to do it,” Fisch said on Monday. “We thought it was a good opportunity. We’re trying to build our brand of football and create our identity. As I’ve said before, we’re not in the Pac-12 any longer. This is not the same type of opponents, this is not the same type of football.”
“It’s a game of physicality, it’s a game of defense, it’s a game of running the football, it’s a game of making plays when they present themselves, it’s a game of matchups. In this case, it was an opportunity for us to set the tone on how we wanted to play the game of football and we thought Voi would be a great guy to help create that identity for us.”
The senior from South Jordan, Utah, did just that, standing up Grant in the hole and appearing to catch the Michigan star off guard with his physicality, setting the tone for the game. Later on, he also made a big play when it presented itself, forcing a fumble on quarterback Jack Tuttle, which was recovered by defensive tackle Logan Sagapolu and set up Coleman’s one-yard touchdown, which put the Huskies ahead for good.