Voi Tunuufi Appears Ready to Make the Move to Edge Rusher

Injuries prevented the junior from Utah from working on the outside during spring ball.

A day and a half before University of Washington opens its fall football camp, all seems to be well and good in Montlake.

The sun was out on Monday, Husky Stadium was glistening and the Pac-12 Conference remained intact at nine teams, at least for now.

As Kalen DeBoer prepares to open a much-anticipated second season at the UW, he has a full roster of talented and healthy players, with no known major injuries for anyone holding a scholarship.

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is a Heisman Trophy candidate and edge rusher Bralen Trice and wide receiver Rome Odunze are legitimate All-America possibilities. 

Fourteen of 22 starters return, with Oklahoma State cornerback Jabbar Muhammad providing a significant upgrade in what was a vulnerable secondary position last season and multi-talented Mississippi State running back Dillon Johnson is expected to be fully healthy after missing all but one spring football practice with a  lingering leg issue.

The UW lineups appear to be fairly well set going in, with the possible exception of the interior offensive line, where senior Matteo Mele still could move to guard if center doesn't quite suit him, which would open up a spot for redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford, one of the standout players in the spring.

Defensively, the Huskies appear well stocked everywhere with the exception of edge-rusher depth. 

With the spring departure of Sav'ell Smalls to Colorado, junior Voi Tunuufi stands to spend most of his time —though still not all — coming off the edge. In two seasons, he has 8 sacks while playing out of a stance and starting just two games in 2021.

In spring ball, the DeBoer coaching staff wanted to move the 6-foot-1, 260-pound Tunuufi from Salt Lake City outside, but minor injuries prevented him from making the change.

Tunuufi, undersized for a defensive lineman and not needed inside as much with the emergence of the Parker twins, has great quickness and is expected to make the edge his primary position over the next month and into the season.

Also, transfer quarterback Will Howell, from San Diego State and a scholarship player, won't be eligible for games until the 2024 season because pre-pandemic transfer regulations have been reinstated and will force him to sit out. 

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