He was a special-teams standout for the Huskies for the famed “Whammy in Miami” game in 1994. He was a graduate-assistant coach for the Huskies during the 2001 Rose Bowl victory over Purdue.
But never has Ikaika Malloe been part of a game of this magnitude. And UW’s first-year defensive-line coach couldn’t be happier to be coaching his alma mater for the national semifinal against No. 1 Alabama on New Year’s Eve.
“There’s a lot of pride,” Malloe said. “I get a lot messages from ex-teammates and you can feel the passion from them. It’s tough to separate yourself from being a fan-slash-alumni and being a coach, but I obviously have a unique perspective being part of it and appreciate it from the inside as well.