Tupuola-Fetui Didn't Plan to Still Be at UW, But He's Grateful He Is
If everything had gone according to the plan he had coming out of his Hawaiian high school, Zion Tupuola-Fetui would be more than halfway through his rookie contract in the National Football League right now instead of chasing a college national championship.
As he sat in the furthest left chair in Washington’s old team meeting room Tuesday morning, surrounded by media, four days before his final Husky Stadium game against Washington State, Tupuola-Fetui couldn’t be more grateful that his football path went in a different direction.
“I knew I was like a 3-star coming in, but you can be, not ignorant, but confident in yourself to that extent,” said the sixth-year senior edge rusher from Pearl City, Hawaii. "So yeah, I thought I just needed to come in and lift and I’d be out in three years. But here I am six years later. Funny how it all works out.”
After signing with the UW's 2018 recruiting class for former coach Chris Petersen, Tupuola-Fetui played just two games during his true freshman season in order to preserve his redshirt while the Huskies won a conference championship. One of his appearances came in a 28-23 loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, but Tupuola-Fetui still felt that staff lost a year of what he could bring to the team by not playing him more.
He would wait two full seasons before getting his first college start against Oregon State in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. In four games, the pass rusher made the most of his opportunity, piling up an amazing 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and a pass break-up.
Everything was lined up for Tupuola-Fetui to become one of the premier edge rushers in college football coming into his sophomore season but it didn't happen. Midway through 2021 spring practice, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon projected to keep him out between six to 10 months. Exactly six months to the date of the mishap, Tupuola-Fetui returned against UCLA.
He had a 12-yard sack against Arizona in his second outing but would suffer a concussion against Arizona State that ended his season early after it had started late. While spending half the year rehabbing and not being able to help salvage a 4-8 season under former coach Jimmy Lake, the edge rusher emerged with a different perspective that he still holds onto this day.
“I’ve definitely grown a lot since then,” Tupuola-Fetui said. “But I still try to be the same charismatic guy that, when I walk through the door, that even if though he didn’t know what he was doing, had a smile on his face, still had fun cracking jokes. I’m still that guy in a sense, but I've definitely grown up a bit.”
A year ago, he collected his fourth sack of the season and shared in the UW’s 51-33 win over WSU in Pullman, but it wasn't totally satisfying for him.
Immediately following the game last November, more than half a dozen red-coated security guards formed a circle at Martin Stadium around the midfield WSU logo in an effort to prevent players and fans from accessing it. In 2021 in Seattle, Cougar fans had joined former quarterback Jayden de Laura in planting a WSU flag on the UW midfield logo after beating the Huskies 40-13.
No one has forgotten that moment. A clip of de Laura and the flag played during the Huskies' Monday weight-lifting session.
“I’ve been telling them to have that Apple Cup blemish on my record, it hurts to even say,” he said. “It means a lot. Could we at least reverse the score or something? It’s an ill taste in our mouth no matter what. No matter how many years I get away from that loss, it’s definitely the worst loss of my UW career.”
With a victory over the Cougars and similar result over either Arizona or Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game the following week in Las Vegas, Tupuola-Fetui can finish with a conference title after beginning his career with one.
A lot has gone on in between, altering his original plan Husky and NFL football plans, but he knows it's worked out for the best for him.
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