Through the first five games of the season, the Washington Huskies' defensive line has been as advertised. Jedd Fisch's coaching staff made a concerted effort to upgrade the unit through both high school recruiting and the transfer portal, and it has paid off.
Despite a 25-21 loss to the USC Trojans, the defensive line held a veteran offensive line and rushing attack to just 115 yards on the ground, the vast majority of which came in the first half, as defensive coordinator Ryan Walters' second-half adjustments limited the duo of running backs Waymond Jordan and King Miller to just 36 yards after the break.
"Back-to-back weeks, I think we've played as veteran as veteran can be in terms of the way those programs are, and I thought our defensive
line, they were challenged with the amount of runs that coach (Lincoln) Riley called, and I thought they did a great job of being stout," Fisch said on Monday.
"There were some big runs that snuck out early. I think there were a couple big runs in the second quarter...but in the second half, when a couple adjustments were made, whether they called a run or not, it was two yards, three yards, one yard, four yards, and I felt that up front we got some pressure on the quarterback...I felt the defensive line did a good job of doing their job."
In a group that is made up of young talent like freshmen Derek Colman-Brusa and Ramzak Fruean, and veterans like Jacob Lane, Elinneus Davis, and Isaiah Ward, Fisch seemed very pleased with the growth he's seen from his defensive front through the early portion of the season.
"Jacob Lane played with a good amount of physicality in this past game," Fisch added. "I felt Derek Brusa got a lot of double teams on him because of the amount of counter plays that they ran, and I thought he did a really good job of standing in there and being stout. Darin Conley made some more plays, but again, it's fun to see Derek Brusa get better every week; it's fun to see Ramzak get better every week, and then Isaiah Ward."
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington football's defensive line rising to early season challenges
