UW Teammates Show Social Media Support in Zach Durfee's Eligibility Battle
While Washington edge rusher Zach Durfee has been sidelined this season in an eligibility standoff with the NCAA as a supposed double transfer, his Husky teammates have taken to social media in a show of support for making him eligible.
A week ago, Husky wide receiver Rome Odunze posed the following question directed at the college athletics governing body, asking, “Why is Zach Durfee still not eligible?”
Since August, the UW coaching staff and athletic department officials have submitted all of the documentation requested by the NCAA for the former University of Sioux Falls player in an effort to get him playing in games, but it hasn't happened.
The NCAA rejected the initial waiver request made by the school in late September and a subsequent appeal in early October, even though the NCAA granted eligibility to other players — with North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker the most visible.
“If anybody at the NCAA hears this, Y’all need to free Zach Durfee,” Odunze said after Tuesday’s practice, one of multiple Huskies showing social media support.
“He’s a good man, a great player and he deserves to be out here on this field [with] all the work that he’s put in. He deserves to go out there on Saturdays and display it. I don’t know who’s the top of making that decision but man, come on, be real.”
At issue is Durfee first enrolling as a student at North Dakota State in the fall of 2020 before moving to Sioux Falls to play football for the next two years and becoming a promising pass rusher.
While his UW coaches have said Durfee is good enough to play right away and a make difference for the Huskies, he's spent his first season with the scout team lined up across from starting offensive tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten, giving them a workout each week.
Edge coach Eric Schmidt has been encouraged by what he's seen of Durfee as a potential impact player if only he were eligible. As a double transfer, he's been asked to sit out this season and lose a year of eligibility, leaving him with two.
“I’ve been happy with his approach,” Schmidt said. “He’s using it as an it-is-what-it-is type of deal and I’m just going to take every day whatever the situation is and make the most of it. And I just think that’s the right way his mindset has been.”
With two games remaining in the regular season, the chances of Durfee being made eligible remain slim, but no one has given up..
“Obviously, he’s hoping that he can get some answers here and maybe be able to play these last few games,” Schmidt added. “But, if not, I think he understands that, hey man, I can’t control that part of what’s going on. I can only control my effort and my attitude, and he’s done a good job of making sure both of those are top notch.”
Much of Durfee’s college football career has been about battling for opportunity. He went from playing as a walk-on and a redshirt at Sioux Falls to finishing with 11.5 sacks in 2022. Next he became a coveted transfer portal target and multiple Power Five programs tried to sign him.
His brief stint at North Dakota State is what's holding him back until someone decides different.
“He’s in the trenches and he fights,” Odunze said. “He gives us the best looks. He goes out there and competes every single snap and that’s hard to do as a scout guy, especially when you don’t have the motivation of being able to go out there on Saturdays.
"For me, knowing how he plays on scout just like that, how much motivation and how good he can be as a player if he was allowed to go out there and play, would make a huge impact. Hopefully, that will happen soon.”
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