Onwuzurike Came Close to Coming Back and Playing UW Season

Former Husky defensive tackle felt a big tug to reconsider his decision but wisely held his ground.

Levi Onwuzurike admittedly missed football so much he considered returning to the University of Washington football team after opting out of his senior season. 

The All-Pac-12 defensive tackle squirmed in front of a TV set as he watched his teammates play four games during the pandemic. 

In the end, Onwuzurike had the situation pegged all along and was probably wise to remain firm on his decision.

"I came close to coming back," he told Andrew Siciliano of NFL Now. "It came down to the Pac-12 giving us a limited number of games and, if guys got COVID, it would get cut in half. It was tough. I wanted to be there with the boys."

And that's exactly what happened — the Huskies were scheduled to play seven games, plus the conference championship game or a division crossover match-up, and were left with those four outings. 

League games against California, Washington State and Oregon were scrapped, as was the title game against USC, plus any possibility of a bowl.

Onwuzurike was left to hang on until January when he participated in practices for the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, though he didn't appear in the game because of an injury. 

"I missed football a lot," he said. "Stepping on the field in Mobile felt like heaven."

Onwuzurike now awaits next month's NFL draft and is projected as a first- or second-rounder. 

The Texan, who played on an Allen High School team in the Dallas suburbs that featured Kyler Murray at quarterback and at one time captured 57 consecutive games, will bring a winning attitude wherever he goes.

He's also a smart guy, as his pandemic decision proved. He stayed healthy.

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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