Washington football's final spring practice was all about linebackers
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"You've got to be an idiot to not like being a player here," linebackers coach Brian Odom said after the Washington Huskies' final spring practice on Tuesday.
"The program treats you right, you get great work in, the scheme is right, the locker room is right. The players care about football. To me, it'd be foolish for just about anybody to walk away from this opportunity here."
While that response came after he was asked about Xe'ree Alexander's decision to return to Montlake for his senior year, a sales pitch like that sounds like a big reason Odom has pulled in four commits at the position in Washington's 2027 class. It has also helped him build one of the nation's best units at the position between Alexander, senior Jacob Manu, and sophomore Zaydrius Rainey-Sale.
"This is as good of a room that I’ve been around in my career, of guys willing to play at a high level," Odom said. "I’ve got a room that’s full of pro-possibility players. They’ve got a lot of experience, it’s well documented, and they’ve played like it this spring.”
As it has during every practice, that talent showed up during Tuesday's workout when Manu perfectly timed a punch out on tight end Decker DeGraaf to force a fumble during one of the team periods as the former All-Pac-12 First Team linebacker at Arizona looks fully healthy after he suffered a torn ACL in October 2024 and redshirted last season following his transfer to Washington.
Between the two seniors and Rainey-Sale, who impressed as a true freshman after coming off a torn ACL of his own, Washington's unit of linebackers offers plenty of versatility for defensive coordinator Ryan Walters to vary his looks in the front seven. In Alexander's opinion, that will help make the Huskies one of the nation's best defenses in 2026.
"I honestly think we’re a top ten defense in the nation right now," he said. "The confidence is just amazing.”
The inside linebackers weren't the only ones making plays during Tuesday's practice, as freshman outside linebacker Ramzak Fruean was also all over the place, as he has been all spring. The former four-star recruit who was teammates with Rainey-Sale at nearby Bethel High School, took reps with both the first and second team defenses, and showed off his elite athletic traits.
"Physical, crazy," Rainey-Sale said when asked for a scouting report on Fruean. "He’s going to get after the ball, energy type of guy…I think Zak could play all three levels. I think he can play safety, linebacker, and edge if he wanted to. He’s one of those ones.”
On his most impressive play of the day, Fruean walked sophomore tight end Baron Naone into the backfield for what would have been a huge tackle for loss on running back Quaid Carr if the team was in full pads. While it looks like the long-term plan is for Fruean to flex between inside and outside backer, during his first year on campus, he'll mainly act on the outside as a pass rusher.
Here are some other notes from a light practice on Tuesday.
Spring practice notebook
- It was a nice day for one-handed catches. Deji Ajose and Rashid Williams both showed off impressive concentration to pull in difficult receptions.
- Redshirt freshman Quaid Carr burst through a hole in the middle of the offensive line on the first 11-on-11 rep of the day and showed off his high-end long speed with a 65-yard touchdown.
- In a red zone period, Demond Williams Jr. took advantage of a miscommunication in coverage between cornerback Emmanuel Karnley and safety Rylon Dillard-Allen to hit Rashid Williams for a 20-yard touchdown.
- As the Huskies limited some players' reps ahead of Friday's spring game, the first team defensive line was a notable combination, with Fruean and sophomore Devin Hyde (who recorded a sack on Tuesday) on the edge with Darin Conley and Derek Colman-Brusa at defensive tackle.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies' final spring practice was all about linebackers
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