Chances of Durfee Playing at Iowa Seem to Decrease, Not Improve

The edge rusher has either missed or been limited in the past three games.

Zach Durfee and Carson Bruener have an Apple Cup moment. / Skylar Lin Visuals

When the University of Washington football team travels to Iowa for Saturday's game, edge rusher Zach Durfee will find himself one state and 400 miles away from his Minnesota home, the closest he will come on a Husky road trip.

Unfortunately for the 6-foot-5, 256-pound junior, who shows unlimited potential but can't seem to stay healthy, his coach isn't optimistic at all about him being available for the Hawkeyes (3-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten).

"I'm concerned about Durfee right now," UW coach Jedd Fisch said at a Wednesday media briefing. "We'll see what that looks like."

At the same time, Fisch expects senior defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez, the Montana State transfer, to be ready to play after he sat out much of last weekend's Michigan game with an unspecified injury, and that senior tight end Quentin Moore and wide receiver Kevin Green Jr., both trying to come back from knee or leg issues, still aren't fully recovered and won't play on the trip to the Midwest.

Durfee still is waiting to really launch his UW football career in a meaningful way, one that has been filled with stops and starts for two seasons -- either by injury or red tape.

He's started three of the Huskies' first six games, opening against Weber State, Eastern Michigan and Rutgers, while sitting out against Northwestern and playing limited snaps against Washington State and Michigan.

While he missed half of spring football with an elbow injury that required surgery, Durfee lately has been dealing with a toe issue that restricts his mobility.

Last season, of course, he played only in one game, against Texas in the Sugar Bowl and national semifinals, while dealing with NCAA eligibility obstacles because he was considered a double transfer, a rule since done away with.

Durfee has totaled 15 tackles so far, including 3.5 tackles for loss, and he still shares the team lead with 2.5 sacks, all collected against Eastern Michigan and matched by senior linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala.

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