Isaiah Out To Ward Off Further Obstacles That Slow Career

UW Roster Review: The edge rusher has gone from 11 to 6 to 2 starts over the past three seasons.

Isaiah Ward celebrates a spring moment. | Dave Sizer photo

In his previous three football seasons at Arizona and Washington, edge rusher Isaiah Ward has watched his starting assignments decrease from 11 to 6 to 2, not exactly the career path he was looking for.

It's been too many injuries, too much Zach Durfee, far too many obstacles.

"Stuff happens all the time," Ward said. "You just have to keep the right mindset. It's going to pull you from wherever you are."

The good news for him is Jedd Fisch's coaching staff installed him as a No. 1 edge for spring football practice opposite fellow senior Jacob Lane and he did his best to take advantage.

Isaiah Ward points the way during spring football. | Dave Sizer photo

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

Ward, whose uncle is long-time NFL linebacker Bobby Wagner, began and ended the spring as a Husky starter. He came in15 pounds heavier, giving him a 6-foot-4, 245-pound physique.

Yet it was a struggle at times for a guy from Ontario, California, who plays the game aggressively and often pays for it.

Isaiah Ward shares some spring insight. | Dave Sizer photo

In the third spring practice, he pulled down 6-foot-2, 241-pound freshman running back Ansu Sanoe and held him to a 1-yard gain, but injured his hand and came off the field holding it in obvious pain before he regrouped and played on.

He next suffered some unspecified injury that caused him to sit out practices No. 7 and 8.

In the 12th practice, Ward dropped freshman running back Brian Bonner Jr. for a 2-yard loss, but he was slow getting up and limped off the field.

In his healthiest season so far, he started 11 of 13 games for Arizona and Fisch's staff as a redshirt freshman in 2023 headed for stardom, with his last Wildcats outing his best one -- he finished with 5 tackles, including a sack, and forced a fumble in a 38-24 victory over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.

His transfer to Washington has brought him a pair of uneven seasons. He's ready to return to his former edge rusher self.

"I'm doing as much as I can in the training room to make sure none of that injury stuff happens so I'm fully go this season," Ward said.

Freshman running back Ansu Sanoe and senior edge Isaiah Ward get into a little Spring Game shoving match. | Dave Sizer photo

What he's done: Ward has played 37 college football games and started 19 combined at Arizona and the UW, with 58 tackles, including 15.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. The 2025 season had to be a little discouraging for him because he appeared in eight games and started just two reportedly because of an ankle injury. Besides his injuries, he played behind Durfee, a seventh-round NFL draft now with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Starter or not: He has extra incentive to resume his previous existence as that of a full-fledged and productive edge rusher because he needs that sort of performance to get drafted by the NFL. He'd like to play at least one season at the next level while Uncle Bobby, now a 14-year vet, is in the league.