Washington's DL building blocks stand out at spring practice No. 5
The Washington Huskies showed off their promising depth along the defensive line during Thursday's practice.
A lot of the Washington Huskies ' success in 2026 hinges on its defensive line taking another step forward. Even after losing most of a unit that anchored the nation's No. 12 run defense in 2025 to either graduation or the transfer portal, but defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi believes that his unit has still improved.
A lot of that improvement is due to a youth infusion from the 2026 class, headlined by former four-star recruit Derek Colman-Brusa. While starting a true freshman at defensive tackle in the Big Ten is extremely rare, it's clear that the 6-foot-6, 295-pound product of nearby Kennedy Catholic High School, who has almost exclusively taken snaps with the first team so far in spring practice, is no ordinary freshman. “Big, fast, strong.
The kid should still be in high school," Kaufusi said. "He’s unbelievable. He’s obviously doing some really good things.
He’s running around and giving good effort, and playing with good fundamentals. ” After mainly playing on the edge at the high school level, Colman-Brusa, who carries his weight extremely well, has made the shift inside and shown few growing pains. "Football's football, whether you're inside or outside," Kaufusi added of his adjustment to the interior.
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