Everyone knew John Mills had a steakhouse deal downtown in which he visited El Gaucho eight times and sampled entrees off the menu following spring football, which could explain any summertime weight gain.
Champ Taulealea had no such arrangement, but he hardly went hungry over the past few months.
With the University of Washington communications staff this week updating football roster dimensions for fall camp, the 6-foot-5 Taulealea will report to camp weighing a rather meaty 365 pounds, up 21 from the spring — making the redshirt freshman the heaviest Husky on the team by 15 pounds.
The 6-foot-6 Mills, for that matter, will check in at 350 pounds, up 12 from April and tying the sophomore with Dominic Harris, a freshman who actually lost six pounds, as the second heaviest.
Taulealea and Mills now stand to be the two heaviest starting offensive guards possibly in Husky program annals.
If truly accurate, their girth should not come as a total surprise. Those two, plus redshirt freshman offensive guard Jack Shaffer, each showed up during the winter of 2025 as early enrollees weighing more than 360 pounds before the strength and conditioning staff got a hold of them.
Again, this was Jedd Fisch’s wish when he came to the UW was to turn his offensive line into something monstrous and hardly a pushover.
Fisch first made a public plea in November 2024 that his guys up front had to get a lot bigger and stronger following a 35-6 loss at Penn State that was clearly a physical mismatch in State College, Pennsylvania.
Taulealea, Mills and Shaffer were high school seniors at the time, with the latter two committed at the time to Texas and Iowa State, respectively, before flipping.
Looking at the rest of the No. 1 Husky offensive line coming into camp, 6-foot-6 freshman left tackle Kodi Greene weighs 325 pounds, up four from his spring listing; 6-foot-7 senior right tackle Drew Azzopardi goes 330 pounds, an increase of eight; and 6-foot-3 senior center Landen Hatchett is packing 315 pounds, up one.
On this Husky line, if you’re not packing at least 315, you might not be a great fit.
Among the potential second five coming back, junior offensive tackle Soane Faasolo goes 6-foot-8 and 340 pounds, up 20; redshirt freshman offensive tackle Justin “Moose” Hylkema lists at 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, down a pound; Sam Houston State transfer and junior Kolt Dieterich will open at 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, up five pounds; injured returning starter and senior Geriean Hatchett goes 6-foot-4 and 306 pounds, down six; and redshirt freshman center Jake Flores carries 6-foot-6 and 310-pound dimensions, up five pounds.
Again, no one dares show up under three bills on the scale.
Defensively, Missississipi State tackle Kai McClendon, coming off a knee injury, measures 6-foot-2 and 340 pounds, up six pounds, and returning starting tackle Elinneus Davis is at 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds, up eight.
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