Husky Roster Review: Revitalized Ulofoshio Could Transform the Defense

Dr. Ulofoshio will see you now. Or, to be more accurate, if all goes as planned, you will see him once again in full University of Washington football glory.

While the Kalen DeBoer-coached Huskies became winners once more largely without him, the program still didn't seem whole until Edefuan Ulofoshio had regained his own health and returned to his rightful place as a starting linebacker.

Following 15 spring practices, Ulofoshio was declared back in the fold as a team leader, a first-unit centerpiece and a serious honors candidate.

Someone such as this 6-foot-2, 238-pound sixth-year senior from Las Vegas by way of Anchorage, Alaska, could be the difference between a team finishing 11-2, such as the UW did in 2022, or maybe 13-0 or better this fall.

"It feels like normal," Ulofoshio said. "My mindset is I'm trying to improve my game and I'm not really focused on rotations. Every single rep I'm trying to be the best linebacker I can possibly be. I know what it looks like and I'm trying to display it come August, come September."

Going down the roster from No. 0 to 99, Ulofoshio, who wears No. 5 on defense, is next up in a series of profiles about each of the Huskies' scholarship players and assorted walk-ons, summing up their spring football performances and surmising what might come next for them.

Edefuan Ulofoshio is back for a sixth season of college football, having appeared in 31 games and started 12 times.

Co-defensive coordinator William Inge and linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio a sideline subject during the final spring practice.

Linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio (5) and edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui (4) are back to reclaim their starting positions, while Ralen Goforth transferred in from USC.

USC transfer Ralen Goforth and one-time UW walk-on Edefuan Ulofoshio should spend plenty of time playing side by side at linebacker.

Edefuan Ulofoshio wore No. 48 for four seasons, temporarily changed to 4 while in recovery last fall and now pulls on 5.

Edefuan Ulofoshio catches his breath with his helmet off during Husky spring football practice.

Edefuan Ulofoshio has 5 pass break-ups to go with his 157 career tackles over five seasons with the Huskies.

Edefuan Ulofoshio has the second-highest game tackle total in Husky history with 18 against Stanford in 2020, two behind school record-holder Michael Jackson.

When needed, Edefuan Ulofoshio can get out and run. He returned a fumble 39 yards against Stanford in the 2020 season.

Edefuan Ulofoshio earned second-team All-Pac-12 and honorable-mention All-America honors for his 2020 performance.

Ulofoshio clearly is the most motivated player on a Husky team of extremely driven individuals. Just look at his class schedule.

He's a pre-med student, determined to be doctor, possibly in a third-world country, when he's done playing in the NFL if he can make that happen.

Answering to a name of Nigerian descent that means "unafraid of war," Ulofoshio is former Husky walk-on who received only small-college offers from Northern Arizona and Robert Morris while playing for Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas with UW receiver Rome Odunze as his teammate.

Moving from Alaska, Ulofoshio basically was a walk-on player in that Nevada high school, too, because no one knew how good he was.

At the UW, it took him two seasons to earn financial aid. This happened after he was that rare non-scholarship player who wasn't even a starter in 2019 when he was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for his 9-tackle and 1.5-sack performance in a 19-7 victory over Oregon State in Corvallis.

Following the 2020 pandemic-restricted season of four games, Ulofoshio was named second-team All-Pac-12 and later promoted by Pro Football Focus as the nation's top returning linebacker for 2021.

All of that momentum went up in flames when he injured an arm at the end of a 24-17 loss to UCLA for Jimmy Lake's last team, rehabbed it and then tore up a knee during winter workouts after DeBoer's staff took over.

No one has been through more hard stuff at Washington — auditioning for a scholarship, multiple injuries — than Ulofoshio, who has never shied from any of it.

He's come back as cut and as fit as ever. He's smart and physical. He was the No. 1 linebacker, not just a starter, for every spring practice.

The sixth-year senior has built a reputation even while starting no more than five games in a season for the Huskies. He appeared in just five games, all as a reserve linebacker, for the DeBoer staff and he's eager to show these coaches and everyone else everything he can do over a full schedule.

Again, Ulofoshio could be that missing piece that turns the defense into an attacking, big-play unit and returns the Huskies to the College Football Playoff after a six-year absence. It's a new Eddie, now wearing No. 5 rather than 48. It's been a challenge for him, but he's never once backed down from it.

"I didn't know how big it would be," he said of his UW football career, "but I knew what I had to do to get on the field here."

For Dr. Ulofoshio, it's that calm bedside manner that makes it all happen.

EDEFUAN ULOFOSHIO FILE

Service: Over five previous seasons, Ulofoshio played in 31 Husky games, including the 2019 Rose Bowl against Ohio State, and he's started 12 times. In his most scintillating performance he piled up 18 tackles in 2019 against Stanford, second most in school history, and returned a fumble 39 yards that day, looking like a running back.

Stats: He's accumulated 157 career tackles though, again, he hasn't started more than five games in any of his seasons, a total that includes 7 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. He also has 5 pass break-ups, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and a punt block against Texas last December in the Alamo Bowl.

Role: He hasn't been a UW starter since Oct. 16, 2021, when he got hurt against UCLA, and then was injured again in 2022 winter workouts. That's 19 Husky games without him on the first line of defense. How did his team ever survive without him?

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