It's Coach ZTF As Former Husky Tries Something New

Fall camp will open soon for the University of Idaho football team, which will mark yet another interesting chapter in the ever-evolving personal journey for Zion Tupuola-Fetui.

The former 6-foot-5, 254-pound University of Washington edge rusher now is a Vandals defensive-line coach assistant, assuming a role similar to those described elsewhere as quality control or graduate assistant.

In mid-January, Idaho announced the hiring of this man widely known by his catchy initials as ZTF, adding him to a staff headed up by second-year leader Thomas Ford Jr., who at one time was ... a UW graduate assistant.

A distinctive football personality, Tupuola-Fetui, 26, has gone from COVID season superstar to a player in recovery from an Achilles tendon tear to a solid yet less flamboyant return to a brief stint in the Canadian Football League to a Big Sky coach.

"I'm excited to see him have that same success in the future coaching profession," Ford said in welcoming him. "He will have great knowledge of pass rush and his experience will help both of our defensive-line coaches and, most importantly, our players. "

Zion Tupuola-Fetui (58) warms up to face UCLA in 2021 in his return from an Achilles tear. | USA TODAY Sports

A unique personality, ZTF was last seen at UW football practice holding a puppy while holding court on the sideline and watching his former teammates go through their paces in Dempsey Indoor. He repeatedly changed out the streaks of color in his hair. He's always had something interesting to say.

ZTF joins an Idaho program coming off a 4-8 rebuilding first season under Ford's leadership.

Wherever he goes, this Hawaii native, who grew up near historic Pearl Harbor, has left his mark.

Zion Tupuola-Fetui (58) sacks Utah Utes quarterback Jake Bentley (8) in 2021. | USA TODAY Sports

In 2020, with the pandemic shortening the UW season to four games, ZTF piled up 7 sacks, including 3 strip sacks, to draw all sorts of attention to himself. He was named first-team All-Pac-12 and third-team Associated Press All-American.

Yet he tore an Achilles tendon in 2021 spring football, hopping off the field in an emphatic manner and then riding a cart to the training room.

ZTF had another 8 sacks in two seasons for Kalen DeBoer's Huskies and finished with 16 for his career. He was highly visible in a 52-42 victory over USC in 2023 for sacking Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams and then becoming noticeably emotional in the postgame while hugging his coach and addressing the death of his father earlier that week.

Where he once appeared to be an NFL first-round draft in the making, he never could regain that playmaking magic at such an exhorbitant level.

He went undrafted and later signed as a free agent with the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders and spent part of the 2024 season on the practice squad.

So now he's in Moscow, Idaho, in a coaching capacity, preparing for fall camp to open as the Vandals get ready to play at Cal Poly on August 28 and looking to inspire others to greatness.

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