A Starting Defensive Lineup for Ryan Walters to Consider

This promises to be a nearly all new lineup for the 2025 season.

Husky safety Makell Esteen makes a tackle at Oregon. / Skylar Lin Visuals

The present-day University of Washington defensive unit is a lot like the entire Huskies team emerging from the national championship game against Michigan a year ago.

Nearly everyone left.

Three days after playing in the Sun Bowl against Louisville, Ryan Walters was announced as the new Husky defensive coordinator while Steve Belichick just sort of disappeared as his predecessor as if he was never in Montlake. Must be a Belichick thing.

Walters joins Jedd Fisch's staff after safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri left to become the defensive coordinator at Jacksonville State in Conference USA.

All of which leaves a reconfigured defensive staff with a lot of heavy lifting to do, in replacing seven of the 11 defensive starters who were trotted out in El Paso -- who have now either graduated or entered the transfer portal -- with season-long starting senior cornerback Thaddeus Dixon actually coming off the bench for the New Year's Eve game without any explanation.

So here's what's left from a unit that generously gave up four touchdowns and 371 yards to a Louisville team following the lead of emergency fill-in quarterback Harrison Bailey, for most of four seasons a career back-up.

From El Paso, the four returning Husky defensive players, providing none of them are sniffing the portal, are junior cornerback Ephesians Prysock, junior safety Makell Esteen, sophomore edge rusher Isaiah Ward and redshirt freshman cornerback Leroy Bryant, the latter replacing Dixon, who was a 12-game starter.

With all of that in mind, plus considering the incoming transfers and freshman recruits, here's a stab at what a starting Husky defense might look like in eight-plus months for Walters

Ti'ita'i Uiagalelei, edge rusher -- While this position group is stocked with several talented players, this 6-foot-4, 280-pound Arizona transfer has something none of the rest of them had in 2024 -- 12 starts. He turned in a full season, while everyone else returning in Montlake had no more than six opening assignments. The Costa Mesa, California, product arrives after finishing his junior year with 33 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Also: Isaiah Ward.

Zach Durfee, edge rusher -- If this guy can finally get healthy, he still rates as one of the Huskies' top NFL prospects. He could have been the third Watts brother with his 6-foot-5, 256-pound frame and matching strength and speed. However, he was in a walking boot and using a cane at the Sun Bowl. Get him in tiptop shape, and the junior from Dawson, Minnesota, is liable to terrorize teams like he did Eastern Michigan early in the season with 2.5 sacks. If he can't stay healthy, there are plenty of others ready to go. Also: Russell Davis II.

Jayvon Parker, defensive tackle -- On the verge of making a career breakthrough, while grading out as one of the nation's top three DTs that weekend, Parker tore his Achilles heel at Rutgers and was done after appearing in just four games. Over three seasons, he hasn't started a Husky game, but the 6-foot-3, 297-pound junior from Detroit holds plenty of promise.

Simote Pepa, defensive tackle -- The UW went into the transfer portal looking for someone with enough size to plug up the middle running lanes and came up with Utah's 6-foot-3, 340-pound Pepa. Kyle Whittingham's defensive staff preferred to use this massive guy in spurts. From South Jordan, Utah, he come to the Huskies after appearing in 37 Utes games while starting just three, bringing 45 career tackles, 8.5 TFLs and 4 sacks. Also: Anterio Thompson.

Jacob Manu, linebacker -- This Arizona transfer was considered more productive than the Huskies' departing linebackers Alphonzo Tuputala and Carson Bruener when they all played together in the same conference. The 5-foot-11, 228-pound Manu from Anaheim, California, was a first-team All-Pac-12 linebacker in 2023 while the others were no better than honorable-mention selections. He's appeared in 32 games, 25 as a starter, and piled up 217 tackles, 17 TFLs, 7.5 sacks and an interception. However, he is coming off a knee injury that made him miss nearly half of this past season.

Taariq Al-Uqdah, linebacker -- Providing the Huskies with another compact and productive second-row player, the 6-foot-232-pound Washington State transfer comes off a sophomore campaign in which he led the Cougars in tackles with 76 and collected 5 TFLs, 5 pass break-ups, 4 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions, including a 29-yard pick-6 against Oregon State. The Los Angeles native has started 17 of the 23 games he's played. Also: Xe'Ree Alexander.

Ephesians Prysock, cornerback -- The one-time Arizona transfer stands to be one of the more experienced corners anywhere in the nation after starting 13 games for the Huskies as a junior and 13 games as a sophomore in Tucson in 2023 when he was an All-Pac-12 honorable-mention selection. The 6-foot-4, 193-pound defensive back from Canyon Country, California, is the UW's leading returning tackler with 45 tackles and had 6 PBUs, but he's still looking for his first interception while stationed in Montlake.

Leroy Bryant, cornerback -- For now, we'll go with the promising 5-foot-11, 180-pound Bryant from Fairfield, California, coming off his first career start against Louisville and appearing in six games as a redshirt freshman after suffering a fall camp hand injury. Yet senior Thaddeus Dixon, a 12-game starter, hasn't indicated whether he'll use his JC freebie and come back for another season. Plus, the Huskies are hosting former 6-foot-4, 190-pound Arizona corner Tacario Davis this weekend and he could end up playing next to Prysock again should he not go straight to the NFL.

Makell Esteen, safety -- This guy continues to hang in there, dealing with nagging injuries and transfers brought in to try and take his job. He'll become that now increasingly rare sixth-year senior who started five of 10 games this past season, and has appeared in 34 in his career. The 6-foot-1, 202-pound product of Hawthorne, California, returns with 70 career tackles, 6 PBUs and 3 interceptions. Also: CJ Christian.

Alex McLaughlin, safety -- The physical 6-foot-2, 190-pound Northern Arizona transfer comes to the UW following two sensational seasons, earning first- and second-team All-Big Sky honors. The Chandler, Arizona, product brings career totals of 167 tackles, 7 sacks, 6 interceptions, 16 PBUs and a pair of forced fumbles to Seattle. He will be the physical presence in the Husky secondary.

Dyson McCutcheon, nickelback -- With Jordan Shaw's portal departure, the job goes to this fifth-year senior who has appeared in 24 UW games but never started. The 5-foot-11, 182-pound La Puente, California, product certainly has the bloodlines to succeed: his father Daylon was a USC and NFL cornerback cornerback and his grandfather Lawrence was one of the best pro football running backs of his time.

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