Arizona State DT Gives Washington Big Pass Rush Boost
After three years of terrorizing Washington's offensive line, former Arizona State defensive tackle BJ Green II has decided to join coach Kalen DeBoer and the Huskies. DeBoer's staff had been looking to pick up a productive interior defensive lineman and got one of the best defenders available in the transfer portal with Green.
The 6-foot-1, 270-pound defensive lineman, a second-team All-Pac-12 selection, played all across the front wall for the Sun Devils and was extremely productive no matter where he lined up. According to Pro Football Focus, Green recorded 56 pressures this season, the sixth-most by any Power 5 pass rusher.
PFF also ranked Green as the seventh-best player available in the transfer portal after recording a 22.4 percent pressure rate in 2022. The junior from Atlanta, Georgia, has been a force since stepping on campus when he led the Sun Devils in sacks as a walk-on freshman in 2021 with 5.
At one point, Green was almost public enemy No. 1 on Montlake after he knocked quarterback Michael Penix Jr. out of their 2022 game, leaving him struggling to breathe, and was ejected for targeting late in the Sun Devils' 45-38 victory over the Huskies in Tempe. It's been the closest Penix has come to getting seriously hurt at the UW.
"I'm all right," Penix said after the hit, who clearly wasn't at the time. "We've just got to win the football game. I'll be back. I'll be at practice tomorrow. Then I'll show up next Saturday."
The Huskies haven't lost since that day and now Green will provide a major boost to Washington's pass rush in 2024.
This past season, Green finished with 39 tackles, including 11.5 tackles for loss and 6 sacks.
Defensive-line coach Inoke Breckterfield will be tasked with replacing seniors Tuli Letuligasenoa and Ulumoo Ale, and Green will be asked to step in with a veteran presence.
He also might not be the last defensive lineman DeBoer's coaching staff takes with more depth needed to help stop the run behind 2024 returnees in current juniors Faatui Tuitele and Jacob Bandes, and sophomore Jayvon Parker.
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