Like the UW program, Tokolahi has grown

Semisi Tokolahi’s commitment to Washington at the end of 2008 was surprising for many reasons.

For one, the defensive tackle prospect had never been to the mainland.

And the school he committed to? UW was coming off an 0-12 season and had just fired its head coach, replacing Tyrone Willingham with Steve Sarkisian.

"That was kind of big for me," the 2009 Hilo High graduate said over the phone on Tuesday. "Obviously Hilo is a small town and coming to UW, all I remember is my first game here coming out of the tunnel and looking around at all the people.

"I had never seen so many people in my life."

Despite playing on Hawaii island on the fringe of the recruiting map in Hawaii, Tokolahi held offers from Oregon State, Washington State and Colorado.

But it was Sarkisian who managed to nab Tokolahi, who bought in to the idea of turning around a program basically starting from scratch.

It’s been anything but a smooth ride since then, as Tokolahi has battled multiple injuries, including a broken ankle suffered in the 2010 regular-season finale against Washington State.

He managed to play in 10 games as a junior but has only recently returned to form as a dominant run-stopping presence in the middle of a vastly improved defensive line.

"I feel confident now that I’m coming back around," said Tokolahi, who has started two straight games at defensive tackle.

The 340-pound senior played a crucial role in UW’s 17-13 upset of then-No. 8 Stanford last Thursday.

Although credited with only one tackle, Tokolahi plugged up the middle of Stanford’s offensive line, helping hold the Cardinal to just 65 yards rushing.

Stanford had outscored Washington 106-21 in its previous two meetings and piled up 446 rushing yards in last year’s 65-21 win alone.

Stanford’s 235 total yards were its fewest in four years.

"It was just sticking to technique," Tokolahi said. "We’ve learned not to make selfish mistakes that will cost the team and I think we’ve come to believe that you’re not just playing for yourself but the men next to you as well."

Tokolahi’s effort earned praise from Sarkisian, who said on Monday he thought the Hilo native "played a nice game" during his weekly press conference.

The victory vaulted UW into the rankings for the first time this season at No. 23, but things don’t get any easier this weekend.

The Huskies (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) will play their third team ranked in the top 10 in the past four games when they travel to Oregon to face the second-ranked Ducks in a 4:30 p.m. start televised on ESPN.

Washington has lost eight straight to Oregon and has been outscored 174-62 in the past four meetings.

"Everyone knows Oregon’s offense is pretty rough," Tokolahi said. "We’re taking it day by day preparing for them."

It will be one of the few times in Tokolahi’s four-year career that he will play a game involving two ranked teams.

But like he hoped when he committed to a team coming off a winless season, he’s been part of a turnaround that continues to get better.

"I’m one of the older guys now, and I get to sit back and watch how far this team has come," Tokolahi said. "I feel like all around this team has a different mind-set of expecting to win."