Evaluating UW Huskies’ young offensive line players who have filled in
The offensive line, led by Landen Hatchett (66), takes the field for Saturday’s game with UCLA. The University of Washington Huskies played UCLA in Big-Ten football Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025 at the Rose Bowl, in... (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter
Washington’s youth movement up front has certainly been notable.
The Huskies opened the season with true freshman offensive lineman John Mills as their starting left guard. Injuries have created opportunities for redshirt freshman Paki Finau, who’s registered snaps at every offensive line position outside of center, according to Pro Football Focus.
And during Washington’s 48-14 blowout win against UCLA, UW coach Jedd Fisch gave true freshman right guard Champ Taulealea his most extended playing time of the season. He played 41 snaps against the Bruins, primarily at right guard.
“You get better at playing football by playing it,” Fisch said Monday. “So what we needed was for Champ to get as many reps as he could during practice. To get more and more comfortable. To be in a position where he was ready to go and we could use these last four, five games — whatever it may be — to really let him take off next year.
“We feel that when you’re building it the way we build it — which is by freshmen and not by portal — you can’t hold guys back all year. We have to see who we have.”
Washington has eight scholarship offensive linemen who are redshirt freshmen by eligibility or younger on its 2025 roster. Mills, Finau and Taulealea have all contributed significantly this season despite their youth. And against UCLA Nov. 22, Fisch gave a collegiate debut to true freshman offensive lineman Jack Shaffer, meaning half of UW’s young linemen have already appeared in a game before its final regular-season game against No. 6 Oregon.
“You don’t always see guys that are out there playing at such a young age,” offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty said Tuesday. “They’re really ahead of their time, which is awesome for them.”
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Fisch has staked a large part of UW’s future on the performance of its young offensive line. Four of Washington’s six heaviest linemen — Mills, Shaffer, Taulealea and redshirt freshman Justin Hylkema — are freshmen or redshirt freshmen, and Fisch has repeatedly stated the team’s goals of getting bigger in the trenches starts with recruiting high school players who have the size to compete in the Big Ten.
So how have Washington’s young offensive linemen performed this season?
Mills has enjoyed about as strong a freshman campaign for the Huskies (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) as anyone might’ve reasonably expected. Outside of the high ankle sprain that cost him two games, the 6-foot-6, 325-pound lineman from San Francisco has played well at both left guard and right tackle. He’s played 464 offensive snaps according to PFF, and has allowed just nine pressures and no sacks.
Mills has the third-highest overall offensive PFF grade among first and second year linemen who’ve played at least 20% of 889 snaps this season. He has the second-best pass-blocking grade, an 84.7. Only sixth-year senior Carver Willis has a higher offensive grade among UW linemen this season. During his two-game stint at right tackle, Mills has allowed just one pressure while helping UW rush for 424 yards and eight touchdowns.
Besides Mills, Finau has played the most among UW’s young linemen. The 6-5, 310-pound Hesperia, Calif., native has appeared in every game, despite initially losing the position battle at left guard against Mills during fall camp.
Finau has been the first lineman called upon any time Washington’s suffered injury attrition. He’s played 417 offensive snaps, including all 63 snaps against Purdue Nov. 15 and 65 of 71 total snaps against UCLA. Finau has given up just eight pressures and no sacks.
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That’s despite being asked to play several different roles this season. Finau almost exclusively practiced at guard since arriving at UW before the 2024 season, and 370 of his snaps have been at left guard in 2025. But he’s also been thrown in at right tackle after junior Drew Azzopardi’s game-ending injury against Wisconsin Nov. 8 and played spot snaps at right guard throughout the season.
Aside from his 27-snap appearance out of position against the Badgers, Finau has allowed only four pressures and no quarterback hits. Dougherty said the Huskies are always looking for players with versatile skill sets, and complimented Finau for stepping up when they’ve asked.
“It’s a long season,” Dougherty said. “And to be able to move some pieces around and still be effective and be productive is a really good thing. It’s a credit to him.”
Taulealea’s involvement has ramped up during the past few weeks because Fisch said he needed to evaluate where the 6-5, 330-pound lineman from Milpitas, Calif., was in his development. Fisch praised Taulealea, the highest-rated offensive line recruit UW signed in 2025, for reworking his body since enrolling in January. The UW coach also noted Taulealea had impressed during practices for the past couple weeks, which made Fisch more confident about giving him an opportunity.
During his two most recent appearances, Taulealea has played 73 snaps according to PFF. He has not allowed a single pressure. Additionally, Mills, Finau and Taulealea have combined for zero penalties this season entering the game against the Ducks (10-1, 7-1).
“Champ needed reps,” Fisch said. “I needed to make sure going we had what we needed going into winter, spring and next training camp. That we knew exactly where Champ’s baseline was and exactly where we could take it. I thought he did a great job.”
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Shaffer played four snaps against UCLA. And while he and the four other young linemen who haven’t appeared yet — Hylkema, redshirt freshman Davit Boyajyan and true freshmen Jake Flores and Lowen Colman-Brusa — haven’t had the early impact of Mills, Finau or even Taulealea, Dougherty said their development has still been notable.
“I think those guys all have bright futures,” Dougherty said. “They’re working really hard. They’re just not quite where those other guys are yet. But that doesn’t mean it has to end that way. Those guys just keep on working and we’ll see where it goes, but we’re excited about those guys.”
And UW is expected to sign two more offensive linemen during the early national signing period that opens Dec. 3. Washington has commitments from Kodi Greene, a 247Sports composite five-star prospect from Renton who plays at Mater Dei High in Southern California; Dominic Harris, a 6-7, 335-pound lineman from Clark High in Las Vegas and Ah Deong Yang, a 6-3, 343-pound interior lineman from Puyallup High.
Dougherty gave kudos to first-year offensive line coach Michael Switzer, who was promoted to the role after Brennan Carroll’s abrupt departure to the NFL to join his father Pete Carroll on the Las Vegas Raiders staff, for bringing along UW’s young linemen. Dougherty said Switzer’s work ethic, detail-centric approach and hands-on experience playing offensive line has made him a great resource for UW’s young players. But Switzer’s ability to communicate, Dougherty said, has been his best attribute as a coach.
“He just has a good feel for all the positions, and how to tie it all together with the communication piece between all of them up front,” Dougherty said. “He’s just done a really good job in the run game and the pass game for us. He’s a rising star, for sure.”
Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes .com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.