Pio Vatuvei, a sophomore defensive end who played in Washington’s first nine games as a freshman last season before an injury, was kicked off the Washington football program for a violation of team rules, coach Steve Sarkisian announced Tuesday via school statement.
Vauvei, a 6-2, 281-pounder from Patterson, Calif., figured to be in the mix to start. He had nine tackles and one carry on offense.
“We hold our student-athletes to a high standard on and off the field, and our players are made aware of that from the moment we begin recruiting them,” Sarkisian said. “The University of Washington is about the team, and is bigger than one individual player. Pio had numerous opportunities to display behavior consistent with the values of our program, and unfortunately he fell short of our standards. We wish him the best of luck moving forward.”
The statement said that Sarkisian and other department officials would have no further comment on the matter. The Huskies begin fall camp Monday.
