Washington Huskies Football: 2023 Transfer Portal – Part 4 Edge Rushers
Herb Nightengale
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Changes are coming to the Washington Huskies pass rush in 2023, and the transfer portal is a big reason.
Our series on the comings and goings within the Washington Huskies football program continues with part four, the edge rushers.
Jeremiah Martin was an All-Pac-12 First-Team selection and Washington’s top defensive player in 2022, moves on due to graduation. A portal success story, Martin played two years for the Huskies after transferring from Texas A&M.
With his college eligibility up, Martin signed with Cleveland as an undrafted free agent. Even without him, the Washington Huskies have some good edge rushers returning.
Planet ZTF
Zion Tupuola-Fetui is the most recognized edge rusher coming back. Instead of going into the 2023 NFL Draft, he decided to return for one more season.
ZTF started to make a name for himself at UW in his redshirt season of 2019. A year later, he was First-Team All-Pac-12, creating havoc on opposing offenses in the Covid-shortened season.
It was rough for Tupuola-Fetui in 2021. He tore his Achilles tendon in spring practice. The injury caused him to miss the first five games.
Last year, ZTF played in all 13 games and made all Pac-12 Honorable Mention though he started in only two games and didn’t look like he was back to 100%. In 2023, Tupuola-Fetui is expected to start and be a difference maker.
On the Other Side
Junior Bralen Trice returns as the other starting edge rusher. He played in every game and started in all but one.
Along with Martin, Trice led the Huskies with 9 sacks in 2022. He also made 38 tackles, including 12 for loss. His performance earned him First Team All-Pac-12, and the Sporting News had Trice as a Second Team All-American.
Inbound
Zach Durfee transferred in from Sioux Falls College, where he had 11.0 sacks last season. He should be a big part of the rotation. An interesting tidbit, Washington Huskies Head Coach Kalen DeBoer played his college ball and has his first head coaching job at Sioux Falls.
Three-star recruit Jacob Lane from Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup has a chance to see some playing time as a true freshman.
Outbound
Sav’ell Smalls was a 4-star recruit who came to Washington from Kennedy Catholic in 2020 with high expectations. Although he was better in 2022, Smalls never lived up to his hype. Earlier this week, he joined “Coach Prime” at Colorado.
Next up in our series is the Washington Huskies’ offensive line.