Huskies Rebuilt Defensive Line Taking Shape During Spring Ball
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Washington Huskies true freshman defensive lineman Derek Colman-Brusa (5) works with UW defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi as Darin Conley (33) looks on during practice on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Credit: Aaron Coe/Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. — A lot of things have changed since Elinneus Davis boarded a plane for the first time in his life to visit a school 1,400 miles away from his hometown of Moorhead, Minnesota.
Since that June day in 2022, he’s seen coaches come and go, along with every lineman he got to know when he started practicing in 2023. For the second straight year, the Washington Huskies football team will feature a defensive front with mostly new faces.
He’s adapted to the changes, just like when he learned to handle air travel. It’s not easy at first, and not always ideal. But one gets used to it.
“The plane, that was actually scary because the winds back home coming out were, for sure, terrifying,” said Davis, a junior who will fill a major role in a mostly new defensive line rotation. “And being to a place where I've never been before, very different from Minnesota, so it was very different. But honestly, I'm glad that I'm here.”
And still here.
Prior to last season as the team’s defense transitioned from defensive coordinator Steve Belichick to Ryan Walters, head coach Jedd Fisch and his staff brought in a haul of senior defensive linemen from the transfer portal in an effort to hold up against Big Ten offenses. Ta’ita’i Uigalelei, Anterio Thompson and Simote Pepa played that part well, helping Davis and the Huskies finish 15th in FBS scoring defense.
Then — poof — the seniors were gone.
Bryce Butler, Caleb Smith, Jayvon Parker and Armon Parker also disappeared, though into the portal, and suddenly it was up to Davis to fly the plane in the defensive line room.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously it's not the most common thing,” said the 6-3, 312-pound Davis. “But we just got to adjust, and we brought in key pieces. And the point I was trying to do for my off-season was just show them the way, and just bring them up to speed and try to simplify the game as much as I can for them. Just be the person that they can talk to and ask questions to. So I think that is my biggest role now, to see myself trying to be a better leader and understand the defense more, and just try to get better in some type of way.”
Two true freshmen and two juniors seem to be heavily in the mix to join Davis as defensive line stalwarts this spring. Junior Darin Conley, a transfer from Ball State, and DeSean Watts, previously at Sacramento State, bring experience to the line. Sophomore Kai McClendon, a transfer from Mississippi State, is also likely to be in the mix when he’s cleared to play after spring ball. Conley and Watts have both made a good impression through five practices.
“They're both stout — Watts is very stout,” Davis said. “Watts is very twitchy for his size, and he understands the game very well. Same thing with Conley. Both of them are getting better, honestly, every day, just stacking days, just knowing the block combinations and learning the playbook, learning the offensive block recognition, stuff like that. So both of them are doing a fantastic job.”
Freshmen Derek Colman-Brusa and Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais bring loads of talent, raw as it may be. Colman-Brusa, recruited as a 265-pound edge player out of Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Washington, is now a very athletic, 295-pound defensive lineman who has worked with the first-team defense all spring.
“Big, bad, strong, you know?” defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi said. “I mean, the kid should still be in high school, but he's unbelievable. He's obviously doing some really good things, just running around and giving good effort and playing with good fundamentals.”
Umu-Cais, known as “TI” is listed at 6-2, 312 pounds, and seems unlikely to redshirt this season as he’s generally practicing with the second unit. Both freshmen are proving they belong despite the steep learning curve as they transition from being physically dominant in high school to facing grown — and very large — college men.
“[Umu-Cais is] strong and he's powerful, and so you can see it when he lays his hands on somebody, he'll get the knock back,” defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi said. “Thing he has to work on is keep moving his feet. I think, in high school, whether it was him or DCB [Colman-Brusa], just because they were so much bigger than a lot of the kids in high school, they were able to get away with just being big and strong. Now the speed is a little bit different.”
With all the new faces, Kaufusi is pleased to have Davis, now a junior, who played well in 424 snaps last season and knows his way around campus.
“It's always nice when you have somebody here who knows the culture, who knows the coaching style, the verbiage, words I like to use,” Kaufusi said. So it's helpful when you have somebody who's in the player's shoes, who's in the locker room. They can easily help coach, whether it's TI or some of the younger guys.”
Geirean Hatchett remains out
Seventh-year senior interior lineman Geirean Hatchett was seen at Thursday’s practice in street clothes with his right arm in a sling. The severity of the injury was not disclosed. Hatchett, a starter at right guard last season, had been taking first-team reps at center as his brother, Landen Hatchett, recovers from offseason hand surgery. Jake Flores worked at center with the first-team offensive line with the Hatchetts out.
Running back Jordan Washington has been ruled out for the remainder of spring ball, Jedd Fisch said during an interview on 93.3 KJR Radio. Washington, who had been working with the first team at running back, was taken to a hospital by ambulance toward the end of Saturday’s practice. He’s since posted that he’s doing well, and was seen at Tuesday’s practice wearing a neck brace.
Safety CJ Christian, who missed most of last season with injury, was in uniform for the first time this spring, though he did not participate in team sessions. Fellow safety Rylon Dillard-Allen remains out with an unspecified injury.
Demond William Jr. looks sharp
The team moved from the east practice field over to the stadium about an hour into practice, and continued to alternate between drills, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 sessions. Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. looked sharp. He flashed his speed during a touchdown run of about 25 yards, and seemed more fired up than usual, shouting into a video crew’s camera after the run.
He found true freshman Jordan Clay for a 16-yard pass in the end zone that had both teams celebrating. Clay was ruled out of bounds by an official, though it appeared that he may have gotten a foot down in the end zone. Clay is in a battle with Kennesaw State transfer Christian Moss for the starting “X” receiver position and has been taking most of the first-team reps with Moss and Lawson being held out with minor injuries.
Williams looked very accurate and on time with the passes that I saw during Thursday’s sessions, though the lines were not firing off at full speed for most of practice.
Next up: The Huskies will be back at it at 11:30 Saturday. All practices are open to fans.
