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    • Husky Linebacker Corps Comes of Age with Win Against USC
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    Husky Linebacker Corps Comes of Age with Win Against USC

    Harry Posted on

    With a largely young team, the University of Washington linebackers represented a position area where Jedd Fisch’s team could rely on seasoned veterans when the season began.

    The first four were seniors; three of them spent five or six years in the program under three or four different Husky coaches. Two of them, Carson Bruener and Alphonzo Tuputala, became team captains.

    Fisch rightly said that the linebackers collectively played their best game of the season as a unit in last weekend’s 26-21 victory over USC, and the evidence to support that claim is everywhere.

    Bruener was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his 12 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 2 pass breakup efforts, making him the second UW linebacker to earn conference honors in this first season as a league member.

    The other one?

    Of course, it was at linebacker, and Khmori House was previously named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for 3 tackles, 1 interception in the Huskies’ 24-5 win over Northwestern.

    House, of course, had the biggest moment of his young career against USC when he saved the game on a fourth down stop in the fourth quarter at the Husky 1, bringing down Trojan running back Woody Marks for 3 yards. Lost to complete goal line stand.

    “They definitely played well,” UW defensive coordinator Steve Belichick said. “They worked hard all week. I know coach (Robert) Bala spent a lot of time with these guys and they really embraced coaching. I’m happy for these guys.”

    But they don’t have time to tell each other how good they are. On Saturday night, the Huskies will face Penn State, a well-known defensive school over the years after offering players like Jack Ham, Lavar Arrington and Shane Conlan, as well as many players who were their best when they played in the college game.

    While Bruener provided the Huskies with a veteran presence all season long with 269 career tackles, it was the emergence of House that really changed things in many ways at linebacker.

    The 6-foot-1, 214-pound House, who started four games as a freshman player, allowed UW to put Tuputala all over the field, from edge rusher to rover to linebacker, looking for ways to best utilize him. Maybe we can give him a better shot at becoming an NFL player. A 36-game starter at Husky linebacker, Tuputala has 203 career tackles.

    During House’s rise to Husky starter, San Jose State transfer Bryun Parham, a senior from the Mountain West who had 199 tackles, left the program after four games to maintain his redshirt status and start all over again with another school next year. It wasn’t a coincidence. A season where a player like House didn’t get in his way.

    Huskies linebacker Carson Bruener is preparing for another game in the 2023 season.

    Huskies linebacker Carson Bruener is preparing for another game in the 2023 season. /Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

    Behind those three players are sixth-year senior Drew Fowler, Oklahoma transfer Justin Harrington, Arizona transfer and special teams leader Anthony Ward and redshirt freshman Deven Bryant.

    Fowler has appeared in 45 games and collected 34 career tackles. Harrington came to the Huskies as a safety after knee surgery, but moved to linebacker when Parham left. Ward started his career at UW and had a touchdown on a punt block at Tucson, so he has playmaking ability. Bryant, who missed all spring ball due to a foot injury, played 10 games in two seasons.

    It has been a generally productive unit, with House’s prospects for the future strengthened as he advances to the starting phase. The USC game was a big moment for everyone in the secondary, but they can’t congratulate each other and relax. Defensive coordinators won’t allow it.

    “I want to see everything they do go forward and more,” Belichick said in a message to his defenders. “It wasn’t good enough.”

    For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

    Harry
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