ZTF Has Everyone On Edge of Their Seats With His New Role

The one-time All-Pac-12 player is coming off the bench.

When the University of Washington defensive unit came out for Saturday's first play against Portland State, Bralen Trice and Jeremiah Martin lined up as the starting edge rushers, looking every bit intimidating to the other side.

Teammate Zion Tupuola-Fetui sat on the Husky bench, cooling off in front of a huge fan, lost in his own thoughts.

On the first play of the second defensive series, Trice crashed through to get a hand on Portland State quarterback Dante Chachere and the ball came loose, with Martin reaching for it. The officiating crew ruled intentional grounding. Fans booed the call, thinking it was a fumble.

While this was happening, ZTF patiently stood on the Husky sideline, blending in with the cluster of purple-shirted players watching and waiting to hear their names called.

"It's a lot different than in the past," Trice said of the UW's collective pass rush. "We communicate better. We change up the calls. It's just a lot more different. I don't know how to say it."

Let's help him out on that: in one of the more interesting personnel developments of this brief Kalen DeBoer coaching era, the 6-foot-4, 249-pound ZTF is healthy once more, still a formidable defender — and yet a back-up player.

The junior from Pearl City, Hawaii, was once a first-team All-Pac-12 pick and a third-team AP All-America selection, the Huskies' defensive headliner. Right now, he's apparently the third-best edge rusher on the roster.

Outwardly, ZTF appears OK with this. He was shown in a USA TODAY Sports photo standing next to DeBoer and celebrating the season-opening victory over Kent State with a howl. 

The edge rusher situation took even more of twist on the third defensive series against Portland State when ZTF ran on to the field with Voi Tunuufi, Trice and Martin — with the Huskies loading up their defensive front with four highly mobile players rather than traditional defensive tackles.

"I think it's great when we're out there," Trice said of playing at the same time with Martin and ZTF. "We all have this energy when it comes to the pass rush that bounces off each other because we all want to get that sack and get to the quarterback. Go into packages where it's the three of us and, boy, our mindset is go, go, go, go, go."

Recovered from last year's Achilles injury, ZTF hasn't necessarily had his game fall off. It's just that Trice and Martin have improved their play and flourished in the new defense.

Throughout fall camp, Husky coaches such as co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell offered hints that something might be up with the rotation that was coming at the position. 

It was just in the way Morrell summed up everyone's game, evenly praising the play of the 6-foot-4, 267-pound Martin, a senior and formerly of Texas A&M; the 6-foot-4, 269-pound Trice, a sophomore and promoted by the previous staff as potentially a better player than former UW edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; and ZTF, who was widely assumed to be the leader of this group.

"We've got three really high-end guys," Morrell said. "We've got Jeremiah Martin, old, savvy, veteran, super physical, brings his top game every day. ZTF is an elite pass rusher. Bralen Trice has got the combination of doing a lot of a number of things."

After two games, Trice has collected 8 tackles, including 2.5 sacks; Martin has 5 tackles, among them a half sack; and ZTF has 3 tackles. 

Some draft analysts considered ZTF an NFL first-rounder after he piled up 7 sacks during the pandemic-restricted 2020 season and before he ruptured his Achilles during the following spring practice. 

At the same time, the Hawaiian readily admits the knock on him in scouting reports is he isn't nearly as strong a player against the run. 

While each of these three UW edge rushers is drawing a comparable number of snaps, and the Huskies are winning, the only real complication might be ZTF's NFL aspirations. 

Should he spend this season as a replacement player, ZTF most likely will have to return in 2023 for a sixth season to elevate his draft standing, similar to what offensive tackle Jaxson Kirkland is doing.

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