Ramzak Fruean's Ascension to Starting Edge Highlight of Washington Huskies Camp

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Washington Huskies edge rusher Ramzak Fruean speaks to the media after a practice Thursday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. | Teren Kowatsch/Roundtable Sports

SEATTLE — There might not be a player on the Washington Huskies roster this year who has seen a quicker ascent from where he started with the offseason to where he's now ending training camp.

At the onset of spring training, four-star Class of 2026 recruit Ramzak Fruean began as a linebacker and was running with the backups.

This was unlike multiple other players in Fruean's class, such as four-star interior defensive lineman Derek Colman-Brusa and five-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene, who both received starting reps when the offseason began.

Since the beginning, Fruean has made the transition to edge rusher and received the vote of confidence from Jedd Fisch, who said after the team's mock game Aug. 22, with practically no asterisks, that the first-year player would be starting for the team this season.

It was likely early on that Fruean would have some kind of role on the team this season. He's one of the fastest non-skill players on the team, if not the fastest, and that and additional tools had the coaching staff considering a variety of roles for the now-edge rusher.

"When you go out and watch him play, he just felt like he'd be an ideal edge rusher/outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense/third-down rusher," Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch said after practice Thursday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. "He just has so many tools. So, for us, it was a matter of where we can generate the most amount of explosiveness from him."

If Fruean's speed and improved form from his offseason work translates to Big Ten play, there's a real chance he could be a national All-Freshman player by the end of the season.

And Washington nearly didn't have him.

Fruean originally committed to the Huskies' Big Ten rivals, the UCLA Bruins, but the firing of former head coach DeShaun Foster led to him, and several other Class of '26 recruits, decommitting from the Bruins.

Fruean made the decision to decommit after extensive conversation with his family, many of whom were in attendance at the team's mock game. That decision is bearing fruit for him and Washington, as Fruean's ascension has raised multiple different ships, including the players he's going against every single day in practice.

"It was exciting, just going against the '1's,'" Fruean said after practice Thursday. "I think the work that we put in daily is way different from high school. … Going against (right tackle) Drew Azzopardi, going against (left tackle Kodi Greene), they give me great looks and they just ultimately make me better. Iron sharpens iron."

This year's Washington defense has high expectations for itself, and Fruean's skill set on the edge could be an underlooked factor that helps the unit reach its 2026-27 goals.

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