Did you SEE Saturday’s Apple Cup, Seattle? The Huskies absolutely handled Washington State 24-10, but the real story, the one that makes you do a double-take, is how they did it: with three true freshmen starting on defense. That depth chart reveal earlier in the week surprised everyone, but after what went down, it makes perfect sense.
The New Blood On Defense
Talk about gutsy coaching from the Huskies, starting three brand-new guys in one of the biggest rivalry games of the year. Defensive tackle Derek Colman-Brusa, who was the No. 158 player in the country and rated as an edge rusher, was the third-highest rated defensive recruit from the 2026 class. Then you had edge rusher Ramzak Fruean, who just barely snagged a four-star rating at No. 293 nationally, and he was originally listed at linebacker. Cornerback Jeron Jones, the lowest-rated four-star in the class at No. 438, was still the second-highest-rated cornerback coming in. Who knew these guys would be thrown into the fire like this right away?
Playmakers Right Away
And yet, these freshmen showed exactly why the Huskies couldn’t keep them off the field. Seriously, they were making plays from the jump. Early in the second quarter, Fruean jumped offside deep in Washington State territory. A frustrating moment, right? But dude, he immediately bounced back with a hit on Washington State quarterback Caden Pinnick’s arm, forcing an incompletion. On the very next play, third down, Colman-Brusa busted free on a looping rush and batted Pinnick’s pass. And get this: Jeron Jones, the freshman cornerback, was right there to snag it! He returned that interception 9 yards, putting the Huskies on the WSU 21-yard line. Five plays later, Demond Williams Jr. ran it in from 5 yards out for the Huskies’ first touchdown of the season. Coach Fisch nailed it talking about Jones after the game, saying, “He’s got really good ball skills. He’s got a really good feel of the game, and he is that kind of personality that one play doesn’t affect the other. So he has that goldfish memory that you look for as a DB, right? It’s a short-term memory; it’s ‘next play’, ‘next play’. He’s able to just go out there, regardless of the call, regardless of the stage; it felt to me that he was going to be ready to roll, and I thought he did that.”
Big Stage, Bigger Talent
These guys weren’t just flashes in the pan either. Colman-Brusa and Fruean tied for the team lead with 2 pressures on Pinnick apiece. Colman-Brusa also tied for third on the team with 3 run-play tackles, according to the unofficial PFF numbers. He wrapped up 3 tackles, a tackle for loss in the second quarter, and that crucial pass breakup in just 28 snaps. Jones played 25 snaps, totaling 2 tackles and his second-quarter interception. Fruean, despite an unfortunate late hit out of bounds in the third quarter that contributed to the Huskies’ 130 penalty yards, still had 3 tackles and a pass breakup in 22 snaps. Coach Fisch knows Fruean will learn from that stuff. Fisch summed up the group’s performance perfectly, including freshman offensive tackle Kodi Greene who also started, saying, “I think all of them realize there’s a difference between high school and college. I also feel like they didn’t make it too big. They were able to play within themselves. I didn’t see that one of them was not able to handle the stage, and that stage was pretty big. Opening day, when you play for the Apple Cup, and you play the in-state rival… But to be a true freshman and handle themselves the way they did, I thought was pretty special.”
This is just the start for these young Huskies. If they’re doing this much damage in the Apple Cup, on opening day, in their first college game, imagine what they’ll be doing a month from now. The future of Washington football’s defense is looking unbelievably good!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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