Ramzak Fruean's Rapid Ascension To Husky Starter

The freshman will open the season as a No. 1 edge rusher, his coach revealed Saturday.

Ramzak Fruean slaps hands with his fellow UW defenders. | Dave Sizer phot

The question was innocent enough when presented to Jedd Fisch following Saturday night's University of Washington mock football game.

Would fifth-year edge rusher Isaiah Ward, out for much of fall camp with some sort of injury, simply step back into his starting role ahead of freshman Ramzak Fruean when he is medically cleared this coming week?

The coach's answer was a little more direct than expected, if not breaking news, coming in a locker room hallway.

"Ramzak is going to start for us, there's no question about that," Fisch said.

This was both unexpected and expected.

Unexpected because the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Ward has been with Fisch's coaching staff for his entire career, both at Arizona and the UW, and has started different amounts of games over each of the past three seasons for him, so he'a proven commodity.

Ramzak Fruean brings down a receiver in the Spring Game. | Dave Sizer photo

Expected because the coach has been unable to contain his enthusiasm for the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Fruean, trumpeting his talent level from the moment he had his signature safely in hand during recruiting.

This new kid is so good that those around him already tend to refer to him only by a singular name, and his first name at that -- Ramzak, which seems ideal for a physical football player.

It's sort of like Messi, Pele or Bono, where the one-word identifier comes off as a sign of immeasurable respect for talent.

Fisch caught everyone's attention in December on signing day when he offered his initial take on this kid from Hawaii by way of Tacoma, Washington.

He sized up this prospect who had flipped late in the process from UCLA and had played at Bethel High School for one season alongside the extremely gifted linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, now at the UW.

"Getting Ramzak Fruean was a huge get for our program," the coach said, seated in front of a room full of media types. "I think he's going to be a special linebacker. Him coming from the same high school as Zay, knowing Zay, is pretty awesome. We beat out some pretty good teams for him."

Once Fruean arrived in the winter, the Huskies had him change positions -- from linebacker to edge rusher -- because they wanted him on the field right away and not backed up in the UW's deepest group of players.

He took to the edge right away, demonstrating his high-end speed with his long frame throughout spring ball, prompting Fisch to remark at the close of the 15 practices, "I think Ramzak Fruean is going to be an elite player. I would expect him to be a huge contributor early and often."

Ramzak Fruean (11) and Derek Colman-Brusa (5) are freshmen pegged to play right away on defense. | Dave Sizer photo

Fall camp has been no different, with this guy coming so fast he's now been named as a starter a full two weeks before the UW opens the season against Washington State in the Apple Cup at Husky Stadium.

He could line up next to fellow freshman Derek Colman-Brusa, who's been a starter at defensive tackle basically without interruption throughout spring and fall practices.

"We've got a lot of playmakers and a lot of guys who are going to make a difference, starting with No. 11, Ramzak," Fisch said last week.

Breaking it down, the coach told how Fruean is 20 pounds heavier since he first arrived, that' he's learned how to process his role and that he's toned down his natural aggressiveness when needed.

Fruean also has curtailed some of the natural mischief-making and playfulness that is part of his makeup, and become a better teammate, his coach said. He previously might show up for practice and goad someone into an instant sparring match.

"His understanding how to set the edge has gotten better," Fisch said. "His understanding to stay away from the quarterback in practice has gotten a lot better."

Ramzak Fruean is shown on a UW visit during his recruitment. | UW

Soon the Huskies will turn Fruean loose on the Cougars and eventually the Big Ten. He'll come flying off the edge looking to create mayhem. His coaches also intend to get him in the open field with all of that speed.

"I can't believe he's not going to be a force on special teams either," Fisch said.

While the Huskies last season had experienced, physical players coming off the edge in Zach Durfee, Jacob Lane, DeShawn Lynch and Ward, no one had more than 4 sacks.

Add in the swiftness of this player named Ramzak to the position and that could change exponentially as Fisch and other UW coaches have repeated.