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Top 5 Husky Freshmen From Spring Football
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- Top 5 Husky Freshmen From Spring Football
Ramzak Fruean takes a drink during spring practice. | Dave Sizer photo
Of the 19 freshmen who suited up for University of Washington spring football practice, players were designated as immediate starters from the outset, others often were injured or guys found themselves needing time to make the transition to the college game.
And then there was Ramzak Fruean, a lanky edge rusher who might have been the most visible playmaker of all of the newcomers over 15 practice sessions, who made himself feel right at home in the Big Ten.
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The 6-foot-4, 226-pound defender from Nanakuli, Hawaii , by way of Spanaway, Washington, continually stood out as the most impactful first-year player among the Huskies by finding repeated ways to invade the backfield and make the Husky quarterbacks feel uncomfortable.
In his most vivid example of disrupting the offense, Fruean caught up with freshman quarterback Derek Zammit, who can run, right as Zammit turned around on a nine-yard passing dropback and took him down with a swift and merciless hit.
"I think Ramzak Fruean is going to be an elite player," Fisch said. "i would expect him to be a huge contributor early and often."
With Fruean a front-runner for best freshman pick-up, here's a top five from a completed spring ball.
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KODI GREENE
Kodi Greene was the left tackle starter from start to finish in spring ball. | Dave Sizer photo
At 6-foot-5 and 321 pounds, Greene came in physically ready to start at left tackle at the outset. What was even more compelling is Fisch's coaching staff didn't feel the need to put him in competition with anyone else, though Sam Houston State transfer Kolt Dieterich might be the exception when healthy.
Greene proved athletic enough and strong enough to hold his own through 15 practices and live up to his 5-star recruitment billing.
ANSU SANOE
Ansu Sanoe offered a fearsome look as a 6-foot-2, 235-pound running back. | Dave Sizer photo
This 6-foot-2, 235-pound freshman running back walked around spring football with sort of a perpetual swagger, like he always was looking to hit someone, like nothing bothered him. He proved to be an overly physical back.
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Sanoe from the Portland suburbs might have had the hit of the spring when he took on sophomore linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale in a big collision and knocked him end over end.
DEREK COLMAN-BRUSA
Freshmann defensive tackle Derek Colman-Brusa runs through a dummy drill while DeSean Watts waits his turn. | Dave Sizer photo
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound defensive tackle chose the Huskies over Ohio State and Oregon , making him one of the moresought after freshmen now in Montlake, with Greene a close second.
Colman-Brusa, similar to Greene, was designated as an immediate starter as a down lineman even though he largely was an edge rusher at the high school level.
He mostly ran with the No. 1 defense, yet the coaching staff swapped him out at times for Ball State transfer Darin Conley to see how that would look and no doubt will give Mississippi State transfer Kai McClendon an opportunity to win the job when healthy in the fall.
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GAVIN DAY
Freshman Gavin Day (21) mixes in with projected safety starters Rylon Dillard-Allen (3) and Alex McLaughlin. | Dave Sizer photo
This tough-minded Las Vegas safety just kept making big plays all spring, giving off indications he could become another Alex McLaughlin in time.
In the Spring Game, Day was impressive in running down receiver Dezmen Roebuck on a fly sweep for a 2-yard loss and in dropping receiver Justice Williams for a 2-yard gain with a textbook open-field tackle.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington as Top 5 Husky Freshmen From Spring Football .
