They're Bookends: Trice Matches Martin as Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week
Two years ago, his then-University of Washington position coach boldly proclaimed that Bralen Trice would someday be a better edge rusher than Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, who went from the Huskies to the NFL as a No. 1 draft pick.
This season, his new UW coaches determined early on that Trice was slightly better than Zion Tupuola-Fetui and handed him the starting job over the one-time, first-team All-Pac-12 selection.
This 6-foot-4, 269-pound sophomore from Phoenix, Arizona, continues to make everyone look like they know exactly what they were talking about and what they're doing.
On Monday, Trice was named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week, giving the Huskies back-to-back recipients after teammate Jeremiah Martin received this same accolade last week. That's a true set of sack-minded bookends.
For that matter, it's the fifth time in three seasons the UW has had a defensive lineman honored by the conference, with ZTF claiming the weekly reward three consecutive times in 2020.
Trice was singled out following a 5-tackle, 2-sack outing in a 28-21 victory over the California Golden Bears last Saturday night in Berkeley, leading the way as the Huskies sacked opposing quarterback Jack Plummer five times.
"It was just energizing out there with our defense," Trice said in a postgame interview. "We were just doing our thing. Getting into the backfield, we pride ourselves in that. Before the game, we said let's all meet in the backfield every single rep."
With 6.5 sacks on the season, the Husky standout ranks second in the conference and 10th in the nation in sacks.
With the win over the Bears, Trice and his UW teammates improved their record to 6-2 and became bowl eligible. He hasn't played in a postseason game at the UW yet.
"It's amazing and we're all over here partying and we've been getting loud," Trice said of the locker-room celebration. "We got that sixth win and it just feels great coming from last season."
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