Husky Roster Review: Fowler Becomes Money Player for UW

Jedd Fisch moved fast to put the senior linebacker on scholarship.

Drew Fowler leaves the field at the CFP national championship game in Houston. / Skylar Lin Visuals

UCLA offered Drew Fowler a scholarship coming out of suburban Bellevue High School and the University of Washington did not.

Naturally, the linebacker turned down the generous financial assistance in Westwood and joined the Huskies as a preferred walk-on, hoping his college money situation someday would sort itself out.

Well, it took five years but Fowler finally finds himself on the UW scholarship payroll, an action completed as one of Jedd Fisch's first official acts of business, with the new Husky coach not hesitating to place the 6-foot-1, 220-pound senior on the paid-for list.

One day after Fisch was introduced as a replacement for Alabama-bound Kalen DeBoer, the coach met with Fowler in his office just to get acquainted, asked the defensive player if he was on scholarship and was told no, and rectified the situation.

On the spot, Fisch not only offered to pay for Fowler's final UW season, the coach also agreed to give him scholarship funds for the previous year retroactively.

What the new Husky football leader invested in was a battle-tested veteran who has appeared in 40 career games and been a reliable defensive presence in just about any circumstance for three previous UW staffs.

"Drew is a coach's dream," new linebackers coach Robert Bala said this spring. "He's up in the office all the time watching tape."

Drew Fowler spins around a practice dummy during a linebacker drill. / Skylar Lin Visuals

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

Fowler spent much of spring practice with the No. 2 defense, but he could easily step in for either one of the starters in Carson Bruener and Alphonzo Tuputala at any time. After he previously was given significant responsibility for the national runner-up team, it seemed ludicrous that Fowler wasn't on scholarship.

During spring practice a year ago, Bruener, who considers himself a close friend as well as a teammate, openly stumped for Fowler to receive a football scholarship. No one was listening.

A year later, Fowler has all of his financial affairs in order. He's always been a selfless player, a bargain basement Husky, no charge. And, in the end, his approach paid off handsomely.

Drew Fowler (54) follows fellow linebacker Logan Lisherness (53) on to the practice field. / Skylar Lin Visuals

DREW FOWLER FILE

What he's done: Pulling linebacker rotations as well as special-teams play, Fowler has 27 career tackles, with 17 coming last season. He's had big hits on kickoff returns. He's won team special-teams rewards. He's made people put him on the field on game day.

Starter or not: With Bruener and Tuputala locked in as the first-teamers, Fowler likely won't budge from his reserve role. Yet if something came up, this one-time free linebacker could handle a starting role. And now that he's paid for, more responsibility makes sense.

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