Tale of 2 Husky Linebackers Who Never Got to Play Together Long
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As different entities size up next month's NFL draft talent, Pro Football Focus has graded the top 10 available linebackers and, just to show how unpredictable the college game can be, two of them played side by side for the University of Washington's miserable 4-8 team in 2021.
Edefuan Ulofoshio and Jackson Sirmon — ranked fourth and ninth among the nation's linebackers by PFF — were together as UW starters that season for six games, manning the second row for a Husky defense that incredibly couldn't stop anyone for long.
Those two were in the opening lineup with a pair of first-team All-Pac-12 cornerbacks in Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon, who would become first- and second-round NFL draft picks two years ago, which means a lot of talent was squandered back then and the defensive line no doubt was a major problem.
When Ulofoshio was lost for the season with a torn biceps injury against UCLA, those Huskies stood 2-4, this after being ranked 20th by the Associated Press to open the season.
Ulofoshio, of course, recovered from his biceps tear and a subsequent knee injury to become a first-team All-Pac-12 selection and wow people at the NFL Scouting Combine last week with a 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds, a top vertical leap of 39.5 inches and a best standing broad jump of 10 feet, 8 inches.
Playing parts of six seasons, the 6-foot-1, 236-pound player from Las Vegas finished with 251 career tackles, including 15 tackles for loss and 7 sacks, plus he had a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown against California and his buddy Sirmon this past season.
Edefuan Ulofoshio breaks free on his 45-yard interception for a touchdown against Cal.
Skylar Lin Visuals
Sirmon, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2022, played four seasons for the UW before transferring to Cal for his final two years to play for his father Peter Sirmon, the Bears defensive coordinator. Ironically, he suffered a season-ending biceps injury this past season, also in his sixth game.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker from Brentwood, Tennessee, finished his college football career with 301 tackles, including 16.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks, plus he had a 37-yard fumble return for a score against Stanford in 2022. He participated in the Senior Bowl, but didn't receive a combine invitation.
Jackson Sirmon is shown making a tackle for the Huskies at Arizona in 2019.
Casey Sapio/USA TODAY sports
Counting the COVID-interrupted campaign of 2020, Ulofoshio and Sirmon started together for 10 career games, but never in what amounted to a full season. Playing against each other for the first time last September, Sirmon finished with 6 tackles for Cal and Ulofoshio had 3 tackles and his pick-6 in the UW's 59-32 victory in Husky Stadium.
These guys were roommates, teammates and high-end linebackers who, because of their different circumstances, started together in Montlake for a handful of games. Football sometimes simply has no room for sentiment at all.
Yet imagine the damage, if injury and transfer free, Ulofoshio and Sirmon could have done as Husky linebacker starters for three full seasons together.
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