UW dismisses defensive end Pio Vatuvei from team

SEATTLE -- University of Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian announced Tuesday that sophomore defensive end Pio Vatuvei has been dismissed from the program for violating team rules.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

Vatuvei, a highly recruited player out of Patterson, Calif., played in nine games for the Huskies last year as a true freshman. He was expected to have a bigger role this season.

No details were released as to what Vatuvei may have done to bring about his dismissal.