Inside The Huskies

Captain Durfee Sets Example for Other Huskies to Follow

He's learned how to handle adversity, way too much adversity, but deal with it just the same.
Dan Raley|
Zach Durfee comes after WSU's John Mateer in the Apple Cup.
Zach Durfee comes after WSU's John Mateer in the Apple Cup. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Some people might question how Zach Durfee could have such a glowing reputation as a University of Washington football player after playing in only seven career games, and barely more than a series or two in most of them.

Yet another indicator showed up over the weekend concering his football prowess, when he and his teammates were asked by coach Jedd Fisch in a meeting room to list six captains on a piece of paper and hand it in.

Well, the players know who's got the most talent and can be an impactful leader -- and Durfee, a 6-foot-5, 256-pound senior edge rusher from Dawson, Minnesota, emerged as one of the six team captains heading into Saturday night's opener against Colorado State. The honor was well received by him.

"It means a lot to me," he said on Tuesday. "It's sort of been a dream since I was a kid. To have your peers vote on it and choose you, it means a lot to me and I'm super grateful. I called my dad right away."

The departed Sebastian Valdez and Zach Durfee were a formidable pair in the short amount of time they played together.
The departed Sebastian Valdez and returnee Zach Durfee were a formidable pair in the short amount of time they played together. | Skylar Lin Visuals

By now, Durfee's college football path is well known, full of too many obstacles yet still holding out great success as a carrot. He transferred to the UW from NCAA Division II Sioux Falls, sort like two levels down, and was good enough to play in Montlake right away.

Yet the NCAA penalized him for taking classes at North Dakota, ruling him a double transfer who had to sit out the 2023 season. He ended up making his UW debut against Texas in the Sugar Bowl and CFP semifinals 20 months ago. Of course, that rule no longer exists.

Last year, Durfee began the season as a Husky starter and had a breakout game against Eastern Michigan, coming up with 2.5 sacks and a near pick-6 in the flat. However, he got stepped on that day and it led to double turf-toe injuries that ended 2024 prematurely for him.

Now he's a captain and likely a season-opening starter once more with certain goals within reach.

"I guess I want to show I can play at this level and play at the next level," Durfee said. "It all comes down to staying healthy. I think we all know in this room that's the deal."

Durfee initially was a high school quarterback who made the transition to defense after his Sioux Falls line coach watched film of him dunking as a basketball player and saw possibilities. He was on board with it.

Yet the journey has been a little tougher than he could have imagined with all of this college football potential but two lost UW seasons to show for it.

Zach Durfee and Carson Bruener have an Apple Cup moment.
Zach Durfee and Carson Bruener have an Apple Cup moment. | Skylar Lin Visuals

He's been able to deal with it -- because that's what captains do.

"Man, I think it teaches you to work hard, put your head down and [know] things aren't always going to go your way," he said. "But it's how you respond to those things that says the most about you. If anything, it's made me feel like a better man."

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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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