Tale of the Tape: How Washington's Edge Rushers Stack Up

With the addition of former 4-star edge defender Jeremiah Martin, Husky Maven's Mike Martin looks at the depth and the future for the position.

The Washington Huskies added Texas A&M transfer, edge rusher Jeremiah Martin, and he joins a position group replete with budding stars.

The Huskies have shown the ability to develop less-heralded players such as 3-star Zion Tupuola-Fetui, who turned in an All-Pac-12 performance in the short 2020 season, and 3-star Ryan Bowman, who was ranked highly by Pro Football Focus, and 3-star Joe Tryon, who was a 2020 preseason All-American candidate before opting out last season.

Additionally, 5-star rusher Sav'ell Smalls showed tremendous growth last season as a true freshman, giving the Huskies another emerging star.

Here's how the position room looks right now:

Senior:  Ryan Bowan, 6-0, 280, 3-star

Senior:  Jeremiah Martin, 6-5, 262, 4-star

Junior:  Draco Bynum, 6-4, 270, 4-star

Junior:  Zion Tupuola-Fetui, 6-3, 280, 3-star

Soph:  Laiatu Latu, 6-4, 265, 4-star

Soph:  Bralen Trice, 6-3-240, 3-star

Red. Frosh:  Sav'ell Smalls, 6-3, 250, 5-star

Red. Frosh:  Jordan Lolohea, 6-2, 270, 3-star

Red. Frosh:  Cooper McDonald, 6-3, 235, 3-star

Frosh:  Voi Tunuufi, 6-2, 270, 3-star

Frosh:  Maurice Heims, 6-6, 245, 3-star

Bynum, from Wilsonville, Oregon, hasn't had a breakout season the way that Tryon did in 2019 and ZTF did last season. Given Bynum's frame, and now the addition of Martin, Bynum may be asked to move inside to help with depth issues that were exposed last season.

Lolohea of East High in Salt Lake City, Utah, didn't see any action last season after he returned from a two-year church mission and got acclimated to college football.  Given that no redshirt season was squandered during a pandemic season by way of an NCAA ruling, Lolohea will have plenty of time to develop as he could utilize another learning year. 

Trice didn't get on the field last season while McDonald saw limited action and registered two tackles.

Tunuufi, also from Salt Lake City's East High, showed tremendous burst as an edge rusher for a state runnerup team. On a fumble recovery, the first team All-State defensive end raced 70 yards with a scoop-and-score play and he had to wait for his teammates to catch up to him.  

It's rare to see a player of Heims' size move the way he can, which makes him an intriguing prospect. He's from Germany. Although he's had minimal snaps at the high school level, Heims showed enough promise to warrant a scholarship. An example: on one play for his California high school, Heims hit the quarterback on a pass attempt and he chased down the receiver and made the tackle.  

For the class of 2022, the Huskies already have received a commitment from Las Vegas-area edge defender Anthony Jones.  The Nevadan is listed at 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds and has plenty of speed.

Overall, the Huskies have some of the nation's top performing edge defenders in ZTF and Ryan Bowman. They are backed up by highly-touted performers who could develop into great players, as well.