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ZTF Says He's Not Entering the Next NFL Draft

The University of Washington edge rusher hasn't played a full season of college football as a starter yet.
Dan Raley|
ZTF Says He's Not Entering the Next NFL Draft
ZTF Says He's Not Entering the Next NFL Draft

Zion Tupuola-Fetui made a big announcement on Friday.

He revealed how he's lounging at home in Hawaii.

Oh yeah, the junior edge rusher also said he's not entering the upcoming NFL draft.

What he clearly didn't say was whether he was returning or not to the University of Washington, where he's invested four seasons in the Huskies, and where fellow Hawaiian native Inoke Breckterfield on Friday was hired as defensive-line coach. 

He followed up with a later tweet that wasn't fully explained when someone pressed him on the possibility of transferring to Washington State, where Hawaii native Jayden de Laura is the quarterback.  

Tupuola-Fetui responded to the WSU rumor in a vague manner and then deleted his message that said something such as "don't trust them" in regards to sources.

As for his NFL considerations, a mock draft released in August listed Tupuola-Fetui as the No. 6 player going in the first round — and this was while he was still recovering from an Achilles tendon tear incurred during spring practice, such is his high regard.

The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder from Pearl City, Hawaii, missed the Huskies' first five games this fall before returning against UCLA. He appeared in five games, even starting three of them, before suffering a different injury and missing the final two games. 

In the UW's pandemic-shortened, four-game 2020 season, ZTF was sensational with 7 sacks among his 13 tackles and 3 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, and he made a national name for himself. He finished as the NCAA leader by average in both categories, collecting 1.75 sacks and causing 0.75 fumbles an outing.

His performance earned him first-team All-Pac-12 honors, plus third-team AP All-America accolades. 

Playing five games this past season, ZTF finished with 8 tackles and a lone sack. 

A full season of playing and starting, something he hasn't done yet at the UW, would go a long way to making him an even more attractive draft prospect in everyone's eyes. 

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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