Inside The Huskies

Ex-UW LB Azeem Victor Turns to High School Coaching

The Southern California native will work 20 miles from where in played as a schoolboy.

Dan Raley

Huskies linebacker Azeem Victor (36) takes part in a 2017 drill.
Huskies linebacker Azeem Victor (36) takes part in a 2017 drill. / Jennifer Buchanan-Imagn Images

Azeem Victor, the former University of Washington linebacker who experienced football's ultimate highs and lows while in Montlake, will join Western High School in Anaheim, California, as a linebackers coach, he posted on social media.

So big and fast, the 6-foot-3, 231-pound Victor will be forever remembered as one of the UW's most mobile linebackers, possibly the last guy to be able to run sideline to sideline in an unrestrained and intimidating fashion.

As a junior for the Huskies, this Southern California native was named as a first-team, All-Pac-12 selection even while missing the last month of the 2016 season with a broken leg and next was chosen as a first-team preseason Associated Press All-America pick heading into 2017.

However, that broken leg -- specifically his tibia and suffered against USC, forcing him to leave Husky Stadium waving to the crowd on a car -- seemed to cost him everything in terms of his elite football ability.

Victor can tell his Western High players how he grew up 20 miles away in Pomona and worked his way into a prominent role with Chris Petersen's Huskies. At one time, he might have been the best or at the very least one of the best players on a defense that also featured Vita Vea, Greg Gaines, Kieshawn Bierria, Budda Baker, Sidney Jones and Taylor Rapp, all future NFL players.

"Pass down what you've learned to the babies," Victor's father, Mike, a former Long Beach State basketball player, posted.

Ex-Husky linebacker Azeem Victor is shown at Oakland Raiders camp in 2018.
Ex-Husky linebacker Azeem Victor is shown at Oakland Raiders camp in 2018. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Losing him in the first half, the unbeaten Huskies in 2016 couldn't beat USC, losing 26-13, and then couldn't hang with Alabama in the Peach Bowl and CFP semifinals, dropping a 24-7 decision in Atlanta.

Victor returned in 2017 but started just five games, clearly frustrated by his change in football fortunes, and he was suspended by Petersen after he was cited for a DUI during the season.

Trying his hand at the pros, he became a sixth-round draft pick for the Oakland Raiders, but couldn't make it out of training camp, and subsequently was signed and released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks.

Making the rounds, he ended up playing one game for the CFL's Calgary Stampeders in 2019 and five for the USFL's Houston Gamblers before running out of chances.

Victor will join a Western High team coming off a 5-6 season and coached by Dan Davidson for the past decade. Considering what he's gone through, he could be a fairly influential coach to his players.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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