Washington’s top edge rushers are sticking together — and returning to Montlake.
Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui will forego the NFL draft and play for the Huskies again in 2023, the pair announced together in a video posted Sunday on Twitter. The pass-rushing duo joins quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa in announcing returns to UW this month.
Trice — a fourth-year junior from Phoenix — will look to build on a 2022 season during which he earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors after producing 33 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and eight sacks.
And Tupuola-Fetui will return for a sixth season in Seattle after contributing 27 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Tupuola-Fetui recently said he was in constant communication with coach Kalen DeBoer, Trice and UW’s other potential draftees.
“It’s a hard decision to make,” he said. “I like it here and there’s a good thing going on here, so it would be hard to leave. But we’ll see how the process goes. But yeah, I’m definitely in conjunction with Bralen on our plans.”
Those plans now lead back to Husky Stadium once again.
Reporter Mike Vorel contributed to this report.