The Washington Huskies defensive line had familiar names to the 2021 season that saw them give up yards on the ground in bunches and struggle to get off the field on 3rd downs. Outside of the departure of Sam Taimani the names remained.
Names on the interior like Tuli Letuligasenoa, Faatui Tuitele, Jacob Bandes, and Voi Tunuufi. On the outside familiar names sprinkled the depth chart in Sav’ell Smalls, Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Jeremiah Martin, and Bralen Trice.
In 2021 year the D-Line gave up a staggering 194 yards per game on the ground to it’s opponents including giving up a 343 yard performance against Michigan.
While not all of the running woes could be placed at the feet of the DL, there was room for improvement. The defensive line was inconsistent in all aspects from the rushing defense and getting to the passer. The best word from an overall standpoint was that the rushers and interior linemen were inconsistent.
Expectation: With the change in leadership there was a hope that some of the schemes would change to assist the D-line in the run game. The best player on the interior was back in Tuli Letuligasenoa while to departure of Sam Taimani on paper looked like a downgrade. However, the new staff moved space-eating Ulumoo Ale to the defensive side of the ball.
The pass rush looked like they would also take a step forward. Former All-American Zion Tupuola-Fetui was healthy and word out of fall camp was that Bralen Trice was ascending the depth chart with steady development.
Expectation around the program was that the D-line would take a step forward and be a bit better in both rush defense and in the pass rush. But it wouldn’t come easy and they were miles away.
Reality: The pass rush was the strength of the defense. Jeremiah Martin appeared to turn himself into a NFL draft pick over the span of one off-season. His consistent disruption of the passing game as he found his way into the backfield would make it hard for opposing offenses to take advantage of the depleted secondary.
However, Bralen Trice was much better than expected, taking a huge stride forward that the coaches have been talking about for years. He was in a statement, the best player on the defense. Left one-on-one he was disastrous to offenses. With ZTF and Smalls also making plays throughout the season made them the strength of the defense.
The interior linemen also took a step forward led by Tuli Letuligasenoa and Faatui Tuitele. The other mentioned also took a step forward in helping the rush defense improve to allowing 121 yards per game–from 194 in 2021.
The Washington pass rush finished tied for the conference lead in sacks. The Huskies led the Pac-12 in yards per carry (3.52) and rushing TDs (14). Additionally, they didn’t give up a rush over 30 yards.
Despite finishing 4th highest in the conference in terms of numbers of carries against them with 448 (449 for both USC and Arizona) they finished with the 3rd fewest yards per game.
Grade: B+
