Huskies' Ulofoshio Explains What It Takes to Be a Great Linebacker

Edefuan Ulofoshio was on top of the linebacker world.

Twenty-three months ago, Pro Football Focus paid the University of Washington defender the ultimate compliment — singling him out as the nation's best returning player at his position.

Ulofoshio, of course, suffered injuries not just once but twice that resulted in surgery, and basically robbed him of the chance to live up to that sterling football reputation.

Five practices into spring ball, Ulofoshio has reclaimed his starting role after getting medically cleared last fall and appearing in five late-season games for the Huskies as a reserve.

Notably carrying a much more ripped physique, he's trying to be bigger and better as he makes his way through the college game one more time.

Ulofoshio won't be christened the best at what he does entering the upcoming season because he hasn't been able to ring up any numbers of consequence that metrics-driven PFF so highly values.

Yet this 6-foot-1, 238-pound backer from Las Vegas hasn't forgotten for a second what it takes to be a great player while roaming the second row.

"All it is is being in the right place at the right time and just making a tackle really," Ulofoshio said. "I see other great linebackers, I see all the draft boards, and they just do the exact same thing. Some people can't read. Some people can't get to the right spot. The second part is effort.

"If you don't run to the right spot, you're not going to get the tackle — it's really just two things."

The Top-5 returning LBs in CFB💥 pic.twitter.com/UokGWAAmH3
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 13, 2021

Ulofoshio built a name for himself after his four-game season in 2020 in which he averaged 11.8 tackles per outing, with a high of 18 against Stanford; and broke up 4 passes, caused a fumble and recovered a pair, returning one for 39 yards. He earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors for his efforts.

PFF saw enough in him to choose Ulofoshio and four others in LSU's Mike Jones Jr., Troy's Carlton Martial, Nebraska's Jojo Domann and Indiana's Micah McFadden as the country's best linebackers.

The 6-foot-1, 232-pound McFadden and the 6-foot-1, 228-pound Domann last season played as rookies for the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts, respectively. McFadden, a Big Ten teammate for Husky quarterback Michael Penix Jr., was a fifth-round draft pick while Domann wasn't drafted.

Jones and Martial have put their names in the upcoming NFL draft in April, but face varying obstacles. After three years at Clemson and another at LSU, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Jones didn't mesh well at all with the new Brian Kelly coaching staff in Baton Rouge and saw his snaps drop significantly, from 402 to 171.

Martial left Troy as the all-time leading FBS tackler with 578, but he's undersized for a pro backer, with dimensions of 5-foot-9 and 210 pounds.

That leaves Ulofoshio to play on without them. The UW player will see if he can reclaim the high regard sent his way from PFF. He's got his health back. He's never lost his ability to analyze the position.

"I watch a lot of film," he said. "I was watching and it was kind of like if you can just do this and that, you can move this way. You can really conceptualize the defense."

Dominate it, too.

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