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DEFENSE
Perhaps the most experienced Husky defense ever, UW’s D-line, linebackers and secondary are in the national spotlight
BY BOB SHERWIN • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE
Given how a handful of players on the Washington Huskies football roster have had such an enormous amount of instruction and experience during their extensive careers on Montlake, perhaps they provide the opportunity to carve out an ascending role — player/coach.
With the NCAA granting extra seasons to all student-athletes because of COVID-19, the Huskies find themselves with nine players in their sixth and final season — five of them on defense.
The five defensive players are linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio, safety Dominique Hampton, and defensive linemen Tuli Letuligasenoa, Ulumoo Ale, and Zion Tupuola-Fetui. Also, senior safety Asa Turner and junior Alphonzo Tuputala both will be entering their fifth seasons.
Any more time spent on campus, and they might apply to be tenured.
“The biggest thing for us is having a strong veteran presence on the squad,” said Chuck Morrell, the Huskies’ co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. “They’ve taken a lot of snaps, the lights are not too bright for them anymore, and they know how to meet the expectations of the season. It’s like having a coach on the field for us.”
Without those extra seasons, unprecedented in NCAA history, the Huskies coaching staff, under second-year Head Coach Kalen DeBoer, would have been challenged to put together an up-to-speed defensive presence this season.
“They all wanted to come back for another season. They felt they had the opportunity to do really big things this season. That’s a testament to Coach DeBoer. They wanted to stay and lead Husky football this season.”
Here’s a capsule look at the Huskies, beginning with the linebacker corps, which has a remarkable amount of experience.
Long Experience at Linebacker
The Huskies’ top four linebackers, senior Ulofoshio, graduate senior transfer Ralen Goforth, and juniors Tuputala and Carson Bruener, together have seen 16 collegiate seasons. They have played in a combined 121 games, starting 47.
Ulofoshio, whose arrival on campus nearly seems to date back to the invention of the wheel, came here in 2018. His impact was immediate. On his first play in his first game against Oregon State, he forced a fumble that led to a UW touchdown. He forced another fumble later in the game.
He then played all 13 games in 2019, his official redshirt freshman season, starting three. He played in all four games in the 2020 season, then came the injuries. He was injured in the sixth game of the 2021 season, missing the final seven games. He suffered an off-season injury last year and missed the first eight games, playing the final five. Injuries and the COVID-shortened 2020 season (four games) denied him from playing in a potential 24 more games, nearly two seasons worth.
Federal Way’s Tuputala is the lone returning starter at linebacker for the Huskies and is the unit’s anchor. He finished second on the team in tackles with 71. The team leader was safety Alex Cook (82), now on the New York Giants roster.
Remarkably, despite their combined nine seasons together on the linebacker depth chart, Tuputala and Ulofoshio likely will be paired in the starting lineup for the first time for the Sept. 2 opener against Boise State. They could have been a successful pairing beginning back in 2021, but Tuputala missed the first six games with an off-season injury. Ulofoshio was injured in the sixth game and missed the rest of the season. Tuputala started all 13 games last season while Ulofoshio missed the first eight games, playing the final five without starting.
As the season approaches, starting linebacker jobs are written in pencil because of the experience and quality at the position. Goforth is a fifth-year senior (graduate) transfer from USC. He played 40 games in his four seasons with the Trojans, starting 17. He finished with 149 tackles.
Bruener, a junior from Redmond, Wash., played in 11 games in 2021, starting five, and played in all 13 games last season. He finished fifth on the team in tackles (45) in 2022 despite not starting a game.
Ulofoshio and Tuputala have been given Pac-12 preseason honorable mention honors while Ulofoshio and Goforth have been named to the East-West Shrine Bowl watch list.
Defensive Line Depth
The Huskies’ defensive line, much like the linebacker corps, is loaded with experienced candidates, led by junior Bralen Trice, a preseason Walter Camp All-America first-team selection and All-Pac-12 first teamer.
Trice emerged as a force on the edge last season, starting 12 of 13 games, with nine sacks, third most in the Pac-12. He was the Defensive MVP at the Alamo Bowl and voted the team’s Defensive MVP.
“Bralen is relentless. No one on the team practices harder,” Morrell said. “What the fans see is what we get to see every day in practice. He is a big piece of our success.”
At 6-foot-4, 274 pounds, Trice is the hefty anchor in the middle but not nearly the heftiest. He will be surrounded by the 300-pound club across the defensive line.
Tuli Letuligasenoa, at 6-foot-1, 302 pounds, has started on the edge in 23 of 25 games over the past two seasons. Like Ulofoshio, he first walked on the UW campus in 2018 and has played in 41 games, topped only by Hampton’s 42.
Faatui Tuitele, a 6-foot-3, 314-pound tackle from Honolulu, is one of just two defensive players who started all 13 games last season (matching Tuputala). He’s a redshirt junior.
Ulumoo Ale, a 6-6, 347-pounder from Tacoma (changed his name from ‘M.J.’), likely will back up Letuligasenoa and Tuitele. Ale is actually a smaller version of himself. He was once as much as 368 pounds when he played guard in his first three seasons for the Huskies. But he converted to defense last season, shedding pounds and blocks in his new role, playing 11 of 13 games.
Senior edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui, 6-4, 254, has been limited by injuries and circumstances, preventing him from reaching his potential. In a season reduced (by COVID) to four games in 2020, Tupuola-Fetui led the nation with 1.75 sacks and forced fumbles (0.75) per game. He made a pair of second-team All-America teams but played just five games the subsequent season because of a lingering spring injury. He played all 13 games last season, starting two.
Voi Tunuufi, is a ‘lightweight’ on the line at 6-1, 260 pounds, was a fierce pass rusher. The junior from South Jordan, Utah, had five sacks last season, including one in the Alamo Bowl against Texas.
Two transfers are expected to provide quality depth as well as push for starting jobs. Senior Sekai Asoau-Afoa, at 6-4, 263, was raised in Tacoma and came to the Huskies a year ago from College of San Mateo. Also, Zach Durfee, 6-5, 265, who had 11 sacks for Sioux Falls College last season, could see a surprising amount of playing time despite being new to the system.
There is plenty of experience, depth and talent along that line that was enough to persuade sophomore edge rusher Sav’ell Smalls, who played in all 13 games a year ago, to transfer to Colorado even before spring football drills were finished.
Secondary Stacked With Potential
The secondary might be thin in experience due to transfers and graduations, but still flush with veteran candidates from within the UW camp and added portal personnel.
Dominique Hampton enters his sixth season with a team-high (and near UW record) 42 games under his belt. He started 11 of 12 games last season (missing one with injury) and was seventh on the team in tackles (42). He is expected to run alongside Asa Turner, giving the Huskies a veteran look. Turner, a fifth-year senior, started all 12 games last season, finishing fourth on the team in tackles with 52.
Versatile Mishael Powell, a junior and former O’Dea High standout, will cover plenty. He was sixth on the team in tackles (43) last season.
Oklahoma State transfer Jabbar Muhammad is an intriguing figure. He already has been honored as a preseason Pac-12 second-team selection. With that, his role should be more prominent.
Elijah Jackson, a sophomore entering his fourth season in the program, is expected to start at cornerback. He played in seven games last season, starting two. Davon Banks, another sophomore with limited experience, is penciled in as a corner starter. But that is uncertain, as he was held out of spring drills while recovering from injury.
Makell Esteen, a sophomore in his fourth year on the roster, played eight games last season, with two interceptions. He gives the Huskies depth as does redshirt freshman Tristan Dunn from Sumner, Wash., Oregon sophomore transfer Darren Barkins, and JC transfer, junior Thaddeus Dixon.