The Washington Huskies are looking for the interior of their defensive line to provide a much bigger impact as pass rushers during the 2026 season.
After the Huskies were able to muster just 24 sacks in 2025, good for No. 12 in the Big Ten, Jedd Fisch and defensive coordinator Ryan Walters turned to the transfer portal to bolster the position. Among the four incoming defensive linemen who are set to be part of the rotation up front is defensive tackle Darin Conley, who made his way to Montlake after three seasons at Ball State.
Across 24 games with the Cardinals, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound senior recorded 44 tackles, 7.5 for loss, with 3.5 sacks and a pass breakup, and he came to Montlake to continue developing his game under defensive line coach
Jason Kaufusi.
"Fus has the recipe, and he knows what he's doing in terms of how we can develop guys," Conley said on Friday. "We've kind of had the accelerated version because we came in as transfers, but I feel like the way he developed me from spring ball to now is something that I feel like I couldn't have gotten done somewhere else."
For Conley, who spent a lot of time during spring practice and fall camp working with both the first and second team defenses, that accelerated version included a lot of individual work with Kaufusi.
"The biggest point of emphasis was the individual work, like the sled work, and unlocking some of the things I was deficient in, like my hips or defending the space," Conley continued. "That's what he talks about a lot, is defending space. It was different from the previous institution I was at to where I'm at now, so really just changing my mindset and helping me see more and less at the same time."
In Walters' multiple fronts, which will alternate between four and five-down linemen on any given play, Conley looks like he could develop into an impact piece on what is expected to be one of the Big Ten's best defenses.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Darin Conley details his development with Washington football
