Zion

Tupuola-Fetui

Tupuola-Fetui couldn’t be ask effective as he wanted to in 2021 because of a torn Achilles that he suffered in April. Regardless, he’s been impressive statistically and is a player to watch. According to Pro Football Focus, Tupuola-Fetui posts the highest pass rush win rate among Pac-12 EDGE rushers since 2020 (24.5%). That puts him ahead of the likes of Kayvon Thibodeaux (20.3%) and Mika Tafua (19.6%).

This is a big win for Kalen DeBoer as Tupuola-Fetui (6'4/280) was only partially effective for the Huskies. That was mainly due to a torn Achilles that he suffered during workouts in April. He had announced a few weeks prior that he was not entering the draft, but also wasn’t guaranteed to return to Seattle. Playing in limited time this past year, he accumulated eight tackles and one sack a year after logging 13 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and seven sacks last season.

Tupuola-Fetui (6'4/280) suffered a torn Achilles tendon during a scrimmage in the spring, and he was expected to miss six to 10 months. If he is able to get into the game, he would be at the very early part of that timetable obviously. ZTF is considered one of the top NFL prospects, if not the top prospect, on the Washington roster. He led the Pac-12 in sacks during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, registering seven sacks in just four games.

This is a big loss for the Huskies to take, as Tupuola-Fetui (6'4/280) is coming off of a season in which he earned All-America honors. Named a second team All-American by The Athletic and the Walter Camp Foundation, the redshirt sophomore racked up 13 total tackles (11 solo, 7.0 for loss) and 7.0 quarterback sacks in just four games last season. Given the timeline, there appears to be a chance that Tupuola-Fetui will be able to play at some point this season. But that would require his recovery period to be much closer to six months than ten.

Otton (6'5/240) earned first team all-conference honors this season, as he caught 18 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns. And the redshirt junior wasn’t the only key contributor to announce that he would return for the 2021 campaign, as OL Jaxson Kirkland and EDGE Zion Tupuola-Fetui did so as well. Washington win the Pac-12 North, but was unable to play in the conference title game due to a rise in COVID-19 cases within the program. Jimmy Lake’s Huskies should once again be among the favorites to win the Pac-12 in 2021.

Tupuola-Fetui also had three tackles for loss, forced a fumble and recovered another. It’s been a sensational start to the season for the redshirt sophomore, as he now has seven sacks in the first three games. A three-star prospect coming out of high school, the 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive end has made up for the loss of Joe Tryon before the season and then some. These performances certainly have put Tupuola-Fetui on NFL radars, and have helped the Huskies start the season 3-0.