With Uiagalelei's Return, UW Will Need To Manage D-Line Egos

As if the University of Washington linebacking corps wasn't crowded enough, the Husky defensive-line job applicants just got backed up around the corner like a SeaTac airport security check point during the holidays.

How will these guys possibly navigate their way through the crowd and catch their flight home in time?

The return of starter Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei, rescued from eligibility purgatory by the NCAA's new 5-in-5 rule, just made things a lot more competitive if not a little more complicated for those playing up front for the UW defensive unit.

Before spring football even began, Husky coach Jedd Fisch anointed precocious freshman Derek Colman-Brusa as an immediate starter and the replacement for Uiagalelei, who opened all 13 games in 2025 and seemingly had used up his eligibility.

Then there's Mississippi State transfer Kai McClendon, still waiting to get medically cleared from a knee injury that forced him to miss all of last season in the SEC.

Fisch said he expected the massive 6-foot-2, 340-pound McClendon, a five-game starter as a freshman in 2024, ultimately to become a first-teamer at some point for the UW, though he didn't clarify whether that would be this season or in 2027.

So now what?

Derek Colman-Brusa (5), DeSean Watts (58) and TI Umu-Cais (64), are bidding for D-line playing time. | Dave Sizer phot

All of this means the Huskies will move ahead and upgrade the defensive-line competition with Uiagalelei, who's nicknamed "TiTi," while walking lightly around everyone else in order to avoid creating any in-house morale issues by bringing back someone so late in the process.

"You're worried about the team, the current rotation and then you have somebody come back," defensive-line coach Jason Kaufusi said on Monday. "How does Derek Colman-Brusa feel? How does Darin Conley feel? You're kind of mindful of what's going on in the room. You have to do a good job managing it and that's my job."

Kaufusi said he wants to play five or six defensive linemen in his game-day rotation and he now has at least eight players with the credentials to do that.

Elinneus Davis is a returning 10-game starting defensive tackle for the UW. | Dave Sizer photo

Elinneus Davis, who was a 10-game starter opposite Uiagalelei last season might have had the best spring of any UW player, so he's deserving of keeping his spot. Colman-Brusa is being groomed to be an exceptional talent. Transfers DeSean Watts, McClendon and Conley each factor in to the playing time that will be doled out.

Add to that Colman-Brusa's fellow freshmen defensive linemen in TI Umu-Cais and Joseph Peko, who physically look ready to go, plus loyal soldier Omar Khan, who's entering his third season in the program.

Do the UW coaches stick with the 6-foot-3, 320-pound Davis and the 6-foot-5, 290-pound Colman-Brusa as the starters or does Uiagalelei push his way back into the lineup?

"Nothing is given, everything is earned -- he knew it," Kaufusi said of Uiagalelei's chances of regaining his starting job. "That's the expectation."

Derek Colman-Brusa is off to a great start in UW football. | Dave Sizer photo

What happens when the wraps come off McClendon?

And what about Conley and Watts, who came to the UW from Ball State and Sacramento State and look ready to play and have an impact?

For Fisch and his staff, this sudden stockpile of defensive linemen means they're serious about finding a more consistently dominant force up front that's been missing in Montlake since Vita Vea left town nearly a decade ago.

It will be interesting to see how they use all of these guys and whether anyone feels that their feet got stepped on along the way.

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