The Washington Huskies are heading into Sunday’s Apple Cup with youth front and center on defense, and fourth-year lineman Elinneus Davis is embracing it.
At Husky Stadium, Washington State will see a Washington front that includes true freshmen starters, with two of them set to work on the defensive line. Interior lineman Derek Colman-Brusa and edge rusher Ramzak Fruean have taken different routes to that role, but both have earned their spots quickly.
Both were four-star prospects in Washington’s Class of 2026 and both are from Washington. Fruean initially committed to UCLA, then backed off that pledge after the Bruins fired DeShaun Foster and chose to stay home with the Huskies.
Colman-Brusa drew interest from Big Ten programs but landed with Washington right away. He is also the brother of Lowen Colman-Brusa, who is on the roster.
Colman-Brusa was getting starting reps on the interior almost immediately. Fruean’s path took a little longer: he began as an outside linebacker with the backups, then shifted to edge rusher, picked up starting reps and eventually won the job.
The veteran most often lined up between them has been Davis, the team captain who is back in the starting defensive line spot after a strong third college season. He played in all 13 games last year, started 10, and posted 29 tackles, including 19 solo stops. He also logged a half-tackle for loss, a half-sack and two passes defended.
Davis said the early chemistry with both freshmen has already shown up.
"With Ramzak, I feel like you all see what he can do," Davis said in a weekly news conference Tuesday at Husky Stadium. "I feel like me, playing next to him, I feel like it just gives us better chemistry, seeing where his head's at, where my head's at.
We really mesh well together. ... With Derek, me and him have been working in the same rack the whole offseason so have just built each other, just talking to each other, trying to compete with each other.
I feel like we've all done a really good job and I feel like we all really mesh well and I can't wait to play next to him."
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