Idaho Strongman Could Give Huskies A Lift

Midway through the University of Washington's eighth of 15 spring football practices, two Grizzly bears suddenly went at it.

With their big paws, 6-foot-7, 322-pound senior offensive tackle Drew Azzopardi and 6-foot-4, 260-pound junior edge rusher Logan George began shoving each other.

Things escalated to the point Azzopardi wound up and threw a roundhouse punch, ignoring the fact that he and George still had their helmets on.

Not backing down, George had to be pulled away from this hot-tempered exchange by defensive tackle DeSean Watts.

It's still not clear who benefitted most by George being sent in another direction. The man has a reputation as a strongman that winds from Utah State to Idaho State to Ohio State and now to Montlake.

"Our guys had a hard time blocking him," Ohio State coach Ryan Day told reporters last year. "You could recognize he had heavy hands."

Azzopardi might have gotten off easy.

Devin Hyde (52) and Logan George (12) should both play plenty of snaps this season. | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

The issue with George is he often has been waiting for his football career to take off.

As one of Idaho's top high school players in 2020, he walked on at Utah State, only to leave and serve a two-year Mormon mission.

Returning to his home in Pocatello, he joined Idaho State, played two years and had a breakout season in 2024 with a league-leading 19.5 tackles for loss over 12 games.

Logan George, far left, sat out the Spring Game with an injury but shared in a position photo. | Dave Sizer photo

Challenging himself,, George transferred to Ohio State to see if he was good enough to play at one of the nation's premier programs.

The Buckeyes previously had pulled edge rusher Tommy Togiai out of Idaho, out of Blackfoot, which is 25 miles from Pocatello, and Togiai is now in the NFL.

Those coaches checked with their Idaho connections again and George came recommended.

"I think he's quicker than I thought he was," Ohio State defensive-line coach Larry Johnson said last year.

Ohio State transfer Logan George (12) and sophomore Devin Hyde (52) mix it up in an edge-rusher drill. | Dave Sizer photo

George played well during spring football in Columbus, however he got injured before last season began and wound up playing only in games against Ohio and Minnesota.

The Huskies found him in the transfer portal, heard similar good things about him and coaxed him to Seattle.

"We've brought in Logan George, who I feel will help fill a role in the loss of Durf," said UW coach Jedd Fisch, referring to edge rusher Zach Durfee, who was recently drafted. "So that's a big deal for us."

Logan George is an Ohio State transfer who joined the UW. | Dan Raley

George lasted three UW spring practices, picking up a TFL when he dropped running back Quaid Carr for a 1-yard loss over that time. Yet he was injured once more.

He rejoined the rotation for the Huskies' seventh practice at the Seahawks' VMAC facility and got a chance to run with the first-team defense and thereafter had his fight with Azzopardi and picked up a touch sack on Demond Williams Jr.

However, the nagging injury bug put him back on the sidelines for the final five spring practices. While his injuries at Ohio State and Washington have never been publicly spelled out, they could be the byproduct of how hard he plays.

“I’m excited to compete,” George told reporters at Ohio State. “Mostly every day I practice, you get to go against the best guys, and, as a byproduct, you get better. That’s what I’m most excited about. I think the main thing is just me going as hard as I possibly can. Work ethic, I think that translates anywhere.”

Meantime, the Huskies will try to get George ready for August's Fall Camp and hope to draw more out of him than Ohio State. His new coaches are hopeful he'll make things happen.

"He'll be one of those guys that does a lot of great things for us,” Fisch said.

What he's done: George played 22 games for Idaho State, 12 as a starter. In his two seasons, he finished with 87 tackles, including 23 TFLs and 6.5 sacks. At Ohio State, he picked up a lone tackle in each of his two appearances.

Starter or not: He's a junior and should play in a reserve role this season with seniors Jacob Lane and Isaiah Ward pegged as the first-team edge rushers and sophomore Devin Hyde and freshman Ramzak Fruean serving as the back-ups for much of spring ball. If he can stay healthy, George could challenge for a UW starting job in 2027.

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