Faatui Tuitele reveals Washington built trust through turbulent coaching transitions

For a handful of Washington players suiting up in the national championship game, like senior defensive lineman Faatui Tuitele, Monday night will be a culmination of a bizarre few years.

Many came to a healthy program led by Chris Petersen, only to watch Petersen unexpectedly step down following the 2019 season. The program hired Jimmy Lake, and his short-lived tenure was full of plenty of drama and off-the-field issues.

Washington suffered through a four-win season in 2021, Lake’s final year in charge. Now, just two short years later, Washington is set to play for it all.

“It’s been a great journey. We went through a lot of trials and tribulations, obviously, especially coming in 2019,” Tuitele told On3’s Andy Staples. “We didn’t expect our head coach, coach Petersen to leave so fast. He was a big part of why a lot of us came to UW. So it was a little surprising for us. Not little, it was a big surprise for all of us when he talked to us that December.”

There aren’t many guys left that were part of Petersen’s regime, but the ones that were remember the ups and downs.

The few that are still around are battle-hardened and adaptable.

“Obviously a lot of guys, after that 4-8 season, left,” Faatui Tuitele said. “I felt like the guys who stayed are the backbone of this team because we’ve been through so much. We’ve been through a lot of adversity. I feel like us just being able to go through all that trial and tribulation really humbled us and made us that much closer, actually. It made us such a tight-knit group between all of us.”

Has it been perfect? Not always. The journey itself has had enough twists and turns to qualify as an elite attraction at a theme park.

“But the journey’s been great, man,” Faatui Tuitele said. “Made a lot of connections and made a lot of relationships to my teammates.”

Washington has played in plenty of close games this season. And what has gotten the Huskies through is their belief in each other and their experience fighting through tough times.

That comes from some of the ups and downs of the last few years.

“We’ve built that trust,” Faatui Tuitele said. “I think that trust is so important when it comes down to those games, especially. The trust between the offense, the defense, the special teams. When one maybe is struggling a little bit, the other will help it. They will step in and help. So definitely that trust is what we have in each other, and obviously you see it with all these close games.”