Ranking 9 New UW Starters By Potential Impact

The University of Washington football team could have up to nine new starters in the lineup for Saturday's season opener against Boise State, but it won't be as much turnover as one might surmise, when considering that some of these guys such as linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio and edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui are old starters.

Ulofoshio, once the heartbeat of the Husky defense, hasn't opened a game for 22 months since he tore a bicep muscle against UCLA in Husky Stadium in 2021 when Jimmy Lake was still coach and COVID was still a major concern, and he followed up that mishap with a knee injury in winter workouts. Both injuries required surgery.

With his return to the lineup, the UW welcomes back an elite player who was labeled the nation's top returning linebacker by Pro Football Focus entering that 2021 season and now is so muscular and fit he resembles an NFL player, which he someday likely will be.

But first things first. Here's a breakdown on Ulofoshio and the eight others who are considered new game-opening players for coach Kalen DeBoer and the Huskies' No. 10-ranked team, and what they bring to the Montlake table:

NEW UW STARTERS

1) Edefuan Ulofoshio — One of four team co-captains, the 6-foot-1, 236-pound sixth-year senior piled up double-figure tackles in six of nine games leading up to his injury, topped by 18 against Stanford, 16 against Oregon State, 14 against Utah and 13 against Michigan. He's a playmaker the Huskies have sorely lacked on defense, someone who covers a lot of ground, plus he's extra hungry to reclaim or surpass the stature he once held as a second-team All-Pac-12 selection and show people he's NFL worthy. He's mobile enough, looking like a running back when he returned a Stanford fumble 39 yards in 2020, as shown in the accompanying photo, and blocking a Texas punt in the Alamo Bowl last December.

2) Jabbar Muhammad — Last year wasn't a fair fight when it came to the UW cornerbacks, with early NFL entry, injuries and inexperience basically forcing the Huskies to use fourth-stringers at one point. Muhammad, an Oklahoma State junior transfer and second-team All-Big 12 player, gives DeBoer's defense a proven playmaker and coverage guy to make things much more difficult for those attacking the Husky secondary.

3) Ulumoo Ale — This one-time starting offensive guard proved to be the first grand experiment for DeBoer's staff, which immediately saw a defensive lineman when it looked him up and down. Fifty pounds lighter but still a massive body up front, Ale is a 6-foot-6, 318-pound sixth-year senior the Huskies hope to use to stuff the interior of the line. After a year of learning his new position, he should be ready to go. He has replaced returning starter Faatui Tuitele for the right to go out there first.

4) Dillon Johnson — With Cam Davis out for the season and this newcomer bouncing back from a pair of knee procedures, Johnson is going to carry a big load earlier than planned. He comes with a solid 6-foot, 218-pound frame and a lot of confidence. In the spring before getting shut down, he looked quick and physical enough going around the corner with a lethal stiff arm.

5) Zion Tupuola-Fetui — After picking up 7 sacks over three games in 2020 to build a heady reputation and earn first-team, All-Pac-12 honors, he blew an Achilles heel much like a flat tire and has spent the past 28 months trying to show he can be a scary player again. A spot starter for two seasons, he has his old job back and the opportunity to show pro scouts he can handle the run as well as the pass rush. At 6-foot-4 and 254 pounds, he's still 25 pounds or so lighter than his fighting weight in 2020.

6) Matteo Mele — The all-important center position goes to the 6-foot-6, 298-pound sixth-year senior, the Huskies' third different snapper in as many seasons following Luke Wattenberg and Corey Luciano. Mele, who's started just once before in 2019, gets the chance to show he can direct traffic and keep people off quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

7) Nate Kalepo — Kalepo, at 6-foot-6 and 327 pounds, is the new Henry Bainivalu, a veteran carrying considerable bulk in the interior of the line. The junior previously has started just three games as an injury fill-in and will need to show the UW coaching staff he can handle himself and keep the pocket from collapsing.

8) Elijah Jackson — The 6-foot-1, 191-pound sophomore and Lake recruit, so long and lean, has all of the physical tools to be an exemplary corner opposite Muhammad. Yet he's started just a pair of games in 2022 and by his own admission "hasn't done anything yet." There's plenty of time.

9) Parker Brailsford — Down the home stretch, Brailsford won the job at right guard over junior Julius Buelow and the 6-foot-2, 275-pound redshirt freshman will make his first Husky game appearance against Boise State after redshirting in 2022.

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