Spectator Spotlight: John Timu
By Carina Fung
Ni hao Husky Haul! Looks like I missed a lot of exciting Husky action during my two week vacation to the Motherland! Huskies beat the Beavers, Bears AND Utes – quite the impressive streak they have going. Fortunately, I was able to catch most of the Washington-Utah game and after seeing John Timu with the interception during the first half that led to the Huskies’ second touchdown, decided he’d made the perfect subject for this week’s Spectator Spotlight.
Sept 27, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Josh Nunes (6) is sacked by Washington Huskies linebacker John Timu (10) during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Washington defeated Stanford, 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE
1) California Love
#10 and current sophomore linebacker hails from Long Beach, California and attended Long Beach Jordan High School. During his junior year in high school, Timu played quarterback and was named the California Moore League’s Player of the Year. Despite suffering from an ACL injury after the second game of his senior year, thus cutting his last season as a Panther short, Timu didn’t let the injury affect his game as a Husky and started his freshman year in 2011.
2) Tacklin’ Timu
Timu’s first year with the Huskies set the bar for what fans have come to expect from him, which is solid defense. In the 2011 season, he had a season-high eight tackles against Oregon (seven solo) and Baylor in the Alamo Bowl. Also notable in those games were a forced fumble against Oregon and a recovered fumble against Baylor. Timu has continued his success on the field in the 2012 season, averaging about six tackles per game. Last Saturday, Timu had a career-high of nine tackles against Utah, plus the aforementioned interception. That performance earned him a nomination as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.
3) Something in a Name
Despite his unique moniker, the Husky football player shares his name with a retired pro rugby footballer from New Zealand. A name that’s famous down under is likely to be recognized more on this side of the Pacific with two more games in the season and as the young linebacker keeps improving with each passing game.