First-year Washington coach Kalen DeBoer lost a key piece of his defensive line Thursday.

According to a report from The Seattle Times’ Mike Vorel, 4th-year defensive lineman Sam Taimani has put his name into the transfer portal.

Taimani led all Husky defensive lineman in tackles this season with 43 stops.

Though the Huskies have a number of options to turn to on the defensive line, few have the kind of experience the 6-foot-2, 330-pound Utah native brings to the table. Taimani has appeared in 28 of Washington’s last 29 games.

After a redshirt year in 2018, he played in every game as a sophomore, each of UW’s 4 2020 games and then made 10 starts this season. He missed only the Arizona game with an injury.

Taimani was a 3-star recruit coming out of high school and held offers to numerous Power 5 programs.