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Husky Roster Review: No Matter What They Say, Trice is Fast Finisher

Bralen Trice could be the leader of a revamped UW defense.
Dan Raley|
Husky Roster Review: No Matter What They Say, Trice is Fast Finisher
Husky Roster Review: No Matter What They Say, Trice is Fast Finisher

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Washington Huskies

The criticism was swift if not comedic after Bralen Trice scooped up a fumble at Husky Stadium in 2021 and rumbled 72 yards to score against Arkansas State.

A few misguided University of Washington fans found themselves in general agreement that the now 6-foot-4, 267-pound edge rusher looked a little slow as he did what edge rushers normally don't do — go the distance.

Trice heard them complain and he could only roll his eyes and sound slightly exasperated at those negative reviews surrounding just his third college football game against an overmatched team throwing on every down.

"I'm a defensive lineman and you have to keep in mind that I was out there for five or six passing plays, and I'm tired and worn out and on my last breath," he pointed out, "and I pick up a ball and I've got to run 70 or 80 yards, you know, at full speed."

Two seasons later, no one is chiding this big guy from Phoenix, Arizona, over style points, only marveling over his overall play.

On a team full of NFL draft picks and a Heisman Trophy candidate, Trice stands to be the Husky who could emerge as the most decorated and highest drafted of the bunch, especially if the defense turns dominant like the UW offense has.

Going down the roster from No. 0 to 99, Trice, who wears No. 8 on defense, is next up in a series of profiles about each of the Huskies' scholarship players and assorted walk-ons, summing up their spring football performances and surmising what might come next for them.

If fans were a little ridiculous at times in their assessment of Trice it's because unreal expectations were set for him before he'd even played a down of football on game day for the UW.

Ikaika Malloe, the former UW edge-rusher coach now at UCLA, was responsible, comparing Trice to one-time Husky and 2021 first-round draft pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, practically turning Trice into a Marvel comic book superhero overnight.

"Without putting so much pressure on him, Bralen will be probably better than Joe Tryon," Malloe said. "He's very long, he's athletic, he can drop in space, he can do all of those intangibles and he's physical enough. He does want to put his hat and eyes on you."

What wasn't readily explained was why Trice didn't play more in that lost season of 2021, getting only limited snaps and not starting until the final two games on the schedule against Colorado and Washington State.

Kalen DeBoer's staff, however, went all in with Trice once those coaches ran him through a few practice paces. He emerged as a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, a second-unit Sporting News All-America pick and the Alamo Bowl Defensive Player of the Game.

He led the nation in quarterback pressures with 70 and finished third in the Pac-12 in sacks with 9, and always seemed to find his way into opposing backfields from the start of the season to the end.

Bralen Trice sends fellow edge rusher Sekai Asoau-Afoa flying and onto a practice pad during spring drills in Husky Stadium.

Rewarded by the Alamo Bowl, Bralen Trice holds up the Defensive Player of the Game trophy in the aftermath of a 27-20 win over Texas.

Bralen Trice comes into the season with 12 career sacks, with 9 coming during the 2022 football season, ranking him third in the Pac-12.

Bralen Trice, after removing his helmet, takes a spring break, along with fellow edge rusher Sav'ell Smalls, who since has transferred to Colorado.

Bralen Trice runs onto the field during spring football with brothers Armon Parker (95) and Jayvon Parker (94) and the since departed Siaosi Finau (93). 

Bralen Trice gets into a stance for this spring football drill as fellow Husky defensive players watching everything unfold.

Bralen Trice withstands a forearm shiver from fellow edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui as they run through this spring football practice drill.  

Bralen Trice and his UW teammates gather to celebrate a 27-20 victory over Texas in the Alamo Bowl in the Alamodome. 

Trice doesn't hear anyone chipping away at his Husky heroics these days. He's the leader of the defense, that is unless linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio or fellow edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui reclaim that elite status after injuries forced them to take lesser roles. Trice feels like he's the lynchpin at times.

"Every series I'm just mentally telling myself I've just got to give everything I can and empty the tank every single time," he said. "I know it's kind of reflects on the rest of the defense — because I know those guys are feeling my energy."

Trice is a preseason All-America candidate and already turning up in the first round of mock drafts, preparing to make millions on the game in real time. Try and make fun of him now. 

As for that supposedly lagging, 72-yard fumble runback, he ranks fifth in Husky annals, and he made it all happen before he became a certifiable football star. History doesn't care how fast you are.

BRALEN TRICE FILE

Service: Trice didn't get on the field on game day during his first two seasons at Washington until he was considered a fully developed player and then he appeared in 25 games and started 14 of them. 

Stats: He enters his fifth season in Montlake with career totals of 52 tackles, which include 17 tackles for loss and 11 sacks, plus that aforementioned fumble recovery. In his sterling 2022 showing, he had 38 tackles, 12 TFLs and 9 tackles.

Role: Trice has started 14 of the past 15 UW games, coming off the bench only for a game-opening defensive formation that didn't include him. Look for him to have it all — individual honors, big defensive stat numbers and a first-round NFL draft pick this coming season.

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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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