Add in ZTF and Transfers, and a Husky Football Defense to Consider

This UW stop unit has added mobility yet deals with secondary question marks.

In case you missed it, the defensive unit for the University of Washington football team recently got a whole lot better.

The Huskies received a public declaration from outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui, arguably the best player on their roster, that he was returning for more; welcomed a ready-to-play transfer in inside linebacker Cam Bright from Pittsburgh, and they've had former UC Davis cornerback Jordan Perryman on campus for a month.

Start them all, and that's a near 30 percent lineup upgrade in the last month alone.

While past 2020 defensive lapses could have been attributed to youth, the Husky stop unit experienced a more noticeable decline last season for a variety of reasons — a change in coordinators, injuries to key players topped by ZTF's blown tire and, there's just no way around this, a lot of poor performances.

Wasted were a pair of first-team All-Pac-12 cornerbacks who might both be NFL Draft first-rounders, plus a vaunted Oklahoma transfer who helped fill out the secondary. 

This Husky defense had so much turnover over the 12-game schedule only corner Kyler Gordon and linebacker Jackson Sirmon started every weekend. Both are gone now, headed to the NFL draft and transferred to California, respectively

With spring football just two months off and the season opener eight and a half months away, we offer Kalen DeBoer a way-too-early starting defense to peruse. 

Of course, the new Husky football coach probably is nowhere near done combing the transfer portal for help, maybe hoping to add a defensive tackle. Or possibly he finds someone buried on the previous depth chart who totally remakes himself, inspired by the new staff, and surprises us all.

Here are 11 defensive starters to consider. Eleven fairly experienced guys, with a few exceptions. Eleven logical candidates. Feel free to disagree with almost any of them.

Edge Rushers

Zion Tupuola-Fetui and Sav'ell Smalls — They've opened together as bookend starters just once before, against Stanford in 2020. They have a combined eight career starts, seven by ZTF. They've been the subject of an inordinate amount of hype, ZTF for his pandemic-restricted, four-game flurry of greatness two years ago and Smalls as a supposedly can't-miss, 5-star recruit. DeBoer would do well to get them on the field together for long stretches and in a highly productive mode. Behind them, Bralen Trice and Jeremiah Martin started twice and once each last season and will push for jobs. The Huskies haven't intimidated anyone on defense in some time. This position area would be a good place to start.

Tuli Letuligasenoa battles in the trenches against ASU.  :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Tackles

Tuli Letuligasenoa and Kuao Peihopa — The Tuli and Taki show is no longer, with Taimani the former starter transferring to Oregon. Nice kid, but too nice. For two seasons with Taimani up front, the Huskies couldn't stop the run. What's left in Taimani's wake are two guys who play exceedingly angry, but haven't physically overpowered anyone yet. The 6-foot-2, 300-pound Letuligasenoa made some strides in 2021 by becoming a full-time starter for the first time, with a dozen opening assignments over two seasons, and he was an All-Pac-12 honorable-mention selection. Still, he seems a little undersized for what he does. Peihopa showed up as a true freshman physically and mentally ready to play right away, but he injured a foot, limiting him to four reserve appearances. Keep him healthy, and he might solve some issues here. Faatui Tuitele also started four times, Voi Tunuufi twice as a true freshman and Jacob Bandes once last season. A new line coach and weight coach make a difference here.

Cam Bright has transferred from Pittsburgh to the UW.  :: Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

Inside Linebackers 

Edefuan Ulofoshio and Cam Bright — No slight to sophomore Carson Bruener, who showed he can play at a very high level and easily could make one of these guys sit in favor of him, but we'll go with who has the most experience here. Ulofoshio and Bright, a fifth-year junior and sixth-year senior, respectively, bring a combined 88 game appearances and 32 starts. One's a former second-team, All-Pac-12 player, the other a Pitt team captain. Glaring mistakes won't be part of their make-up. This might be potentially the most mobile set of Husky inside backers running from sideline to sideline since Azeem Victor and Keishawn Bierria for the 2016 CFP team. Yet Bruener, with six starts, will continue to make things interesting and press for a permanent role. It's a nice logjam to have.

Safeties

Alex Cook and Cameron Williams — Safety was a position where players came through like it was a turnstile, with seven different guys drawing starting assignments last season. To his credit, Williams delivered the hit of year when he caused a goal-line fumble in overtime to beat Cal, but he missed five of the next eight games with assorted injuries. Cook was forced to leave the field in Arizona strapped to a stretcher on a cart. Yet he missed just two games while recovering and finished up as the starter. A sixth-year senior, Cook has 40 game appearances and 13 starts on his Husky resume, counting a stint at wide receiver. With eight game-opening assignments in 2021, Cook doubled the next closest safety, so he should start agin. He's earned it. A fourth-year junior, Williams has appeared in 23 games, starting 10. He's savvy enough to hold down the job. While it was a long time ago, he's the guy who had a two-interception game against USC in 2019. The key for both of them will be staying healthy while still being physical and effective.

UC Davis transfer Jordan Perryman is a sure tackler at cornerback / UC Davis

Cornerbacks

Jacobe Covington and Jordan Perryman — Barring any late portal additions, the Huskies' most reliable position from 2021 will be its most uncertain entering the coming season. We'll have the UW go with a highly regarded but still untested sophomore and a well-utilized senior transfer and expect a lot from them. Covington has the reputation to be good. He's the last Husky DB recruited with a can't-miss label. He's appeared in 13 games and awaits his first UW start. Perryman, a UC Davis transfer, brings 35 starts and first-team All-Big Sky accolades with him to Montlake. DeBoer calls the newcomer pound for pound one of the Huskies' strongest and fastest players. Big Sky players can perform at a high level, as Montana showed at Husky Stadium last September. Sophomore Mishael Powell, the former walk-on who has three spot starts and a scholarship in hand, could be hard to keep out of the lineup. He might beat out either guy. He likes it when you try to leave him out. Count on the two eventual starters here to get severely tested early.  

Hybrid LB/Safety

Dominique Hampton — No player may benefit more from the install of a new defense than Hampton. A three-game starter at strong safety, he was asked to somewhat tone down his approach from physical and taunting to something more finesse-minded and polite. A fifth-year junior with 30 Husky games played, he'll be asked to play with plenty of swagger in this designated hitman role, which replaces the nickelback. Asa Turner, with 13 safety starts, might be a strong candidate here, as well, but he would have to be more physical.

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