Huskies head coach found…
Fisch Staff Can Build A Decent Core Around Husky Defense
Both the secondary and the edge include a lot of potential components.
Last season, the University of Washington’s defensive team included outstanding players, including linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio, cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, and edge rusher Bralen Trice. All together, though, this gang scared no one.
The Huskies allowed seven out of their fifteen opponents to score 31 points or more while giving up a hefty 406.7 yards of total offense per game.
It was usually hang-on time. Usually, the Washington Huskies would hope that their potent offense, led by quarterback Michael Penix Jr., would score several scores and create the stage for a shootout, and then count on the defense to make a clutch stop or two in the last seconds.
In 14 out of 15 games, this idea proved effective. It was dangerous, but every exhilarating win made it worthwhile. It may possibly have been the reason Kalen DeBoer was not allowed to go to Alabama with any of his Husky defensive coaches.
Although Jedd Fisch’s defensive team is far from perfect and will probably need some seasoned components in the future, these players aren’t as far off as perhaps their attacking counterparts are as he works to reassemble his team in the aftermath of DeBoer’s departure.
The Huskies seem to have the makings of a respectable pass rush and an even stronger secondary with two months before spring ball and the impending announcement of a new defensive coordinator, but the defensive front still needs work.
All signs point to this guy having the height, speed, and nastiness to be a poor man’s Trice, from spring football 2023 to DeBoer’s season-long tirades to four plays versus Texas. Talking about Durfee as a physical anomaly of nature, people have been discussing it as if they were evaluating Trice three years prior.
Not much, but he also gives this squad a noticeable sense of ownership and investment. Just three Husky football players were present at the Fisch introduction press conference: Durfee, junior edge rusher Maurice Heims, and sophomore safety Tristan Dunn.
In the pregame of the CFP championship game, Zach Durfee had some alone time.
A private moment for Zach Durfee precedes the CFP championship game in Houston.
Add 6-foot-5, 295-pound JC transfer Bryce Butler from Garden City Community College in Kansas to this bunch of down linemen and watch to see if he can make an early mark.
Jayvon Parker strolls around NRG Stadium prior to the championship game of the CFP in Houston.
Jayvon Parker strolls around NRG Stadium prior to the final game of the CFP.
Skylar Lin Images
Lead by returning starter Alphonzo Tuputala and the sometimes overlooked Carson Bruener, who have both had their moments and been voted All-Pac-12 honorable mention in their separate careers, the linebacker corps may be an entertaining group. Even though he only played in one game last season, Bruener ended third for the UW in tackles with 86, while Tuputala came in fourth with 69. For the next season, both are worthy captains.
Transfer linebacker from San Jose State
Prysock began 13 games for Arizona and was selected honorable mention All-Pac-12, while Jackson started 15 games and rescued the Huskies’ Sugar Bowl.
Senior Thaddeus Dixon, junior Davon Banks, and redshirt freshman Leroy Bryant and Jordan Shaw from Indiana will be there behind them, eager to play, if they lose a game too frequently. Bryant is a budding star, but Dixon, Banks, and Shaw are veterans.
When he’s secure, the quick-witted Holmes will demonstrate to everyone why the Huskies are fortunate that he passed through the transfer portal unnoticed. Esteen has participated in 23 UW games, made one start, and has three interceptions overall.
Fabiculanan, a 6-foot-1, 196-pound senior in his sixth year, displayed more
