Inside The Huskies

PFF Names Trice 2nd-Best Returning Edge

The Washington defender has some elite company (and familiar names) on this list.
Roman Tomashoff|
PFF Names Trice 2nd-Best Returning Edge
PFF Names Trice 2nd-Best Returning Edge

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Washington Huskies

Before the 2021 season, former Washington defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe set pretty high expectations on redshirt freshman Bralen Trice, who had not yet played a down in college football. 

“Bralen probably will be better than [2021 first-round pick] Joe Tryon," he said. "He’s very long, he’s athletic and he can drop into space. He can do all those intangibles and he’s physical enough. He does want to put his hat and eyes on you. As he progresses, he will take about the same path Joe Tryon did.”

While 2021 didn't really go the way that anybody expected, Trice showed flashes of what he could be. He recorded five tackles for loss and two sacks, but displayed that he had the same sky-high potential that Tryon displayed. Then in 2022, he burst onto the scene.

Not only did Trice lead the nation in pressures, but he also led the Huskies with 12 tackles for loss and nine sacks, the latter of which was good for third in the Pac-12. Those numbers earned Trice honors as Washington's defensive MVP, as well as a selection to the All-Pac-12 First Team. 

Rounding out his honors to end the 2022 season, he was also selected to the All-America Second Team by Sporting News, and the All-America Third Team by Pro Football Network. Both Pro Football Focus and Phil Steele named him to their All-America Honorable Mention list, and he was also named the defensive MVP of Washington's 27-20 Alamo Bowl win over the Texas Longhorns.

When Trice and fellow edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui made their joint announcement about returning to school for the 2023 season, the Husky defense got a massive boost, and an offseason of hype continued to build.

Now, Trice has been named to Pro Football Focus' list of the 10-best returning edge rushers for the 2023 season. While the top spot was given to Florida State's Jared Verse, who was expected to be selected as a top 10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Trice, who was given the second spot, doesn't seem to be that far behind him.

Husky fans might recognize a few other names on the list too. While Trice is one of the headliners, one can only wonder what the defense would look like if Laiatu Latu was still in purple and gold. The former Husky who medically retired before transferring to UCLA came in at number seven on the list.

One spot above Latu is probably the biggest Washington recruiting loss in a long time, Ohio State's J.T. Tuimoloau. The former five-star recruit from Eastside Catholic High School in nearby Sammamish took a massive leap forward for the Buckeyes in 2022.

Now the question begs, can Trice live up to the hype? If he can anchor a Husky defense that takes a step forward in 2023, there's a good chance he can surpass the original expectations put on his shoulders, and be selected higher in the draft than Joe Tryon.

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Roman Tomashoff
ROMAN TOMASHOFF

I've followed the Huskies for my entire life, and to be in a position where I get to cover them full-time is nothing short of an honor. After graduating from Lasell University in 2019, I moved to Seattle to pursue my dream of working in sports media. While writing for the Husky Haul, I also covered local sports for the Everett Daily Herald before the COVID-19 pandemic. After being hired by Realdawg.com in February of 2021, I also transitioned into doing a lot of entertainment writing, as I work on a variety of magazines as a contributing writer for Centennial Media, and have also contributed to Emmy Magazine, as well as Walt Disney Television Studios. 

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