University of Washington spring football practice can get a bit monotonous at times.
Drill after drill. Excessive running. Tortured hamstrings. Two-hour practices that often go a lot longer than that.
Leave it to Ramzak Fruean to shake things up some.
Plenty of guys entered spring ball with trumpets blaring, among them blue-chip freshmen such as defensive tackle Derek Colman-Brusa and offensive tackle Kodi Greene in becoming immediate starters.
Fruean, a first-year edge rusher from Nanakuli, Hawaii, followed by a brief detour to Spanaway, Washington, was the guy who emerged from spring football and was put on a pedestal when it was over.
“I think Ramzak Fruean is going to be an elite player,” coach Jedd Fisch said with the Spring Game barely minutes old. “I would expect him to be a huge contributor early and often.”
This is one in a series of articles — going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster — examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.
Over 15 practices, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Ramzak made Husky edge rusher a position deeper than envisioned.
The prospective starters on the outside are seniors Jacob Lane and Isaiah Ward. One of them shouldn’t get too comfortable thinking his job is already won.
Fruean seemed to get in the backfield and make quarterbacks uncomfortable more than anyone else.
“Ramzak has been like the most splash guy of the spring,” defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said.
He’s the guy who came crashing through and dropped freshman quarterback Derek Zammit for a 9-yard loss before the other guy had completed his three-step drop.
Fruean came out of this pile-up with his arms raised, the conquering hero. He was much too fast for anyone trying to get in his way.
Plays like that earned him plenty of snaps with the No. 1 defense, often paired with Lane.
“He’s got the athleticsm of sort of a nickelback but the size of an edge rusher,” Walters said. “Anytime you can get closer to the line of scrimmage and keep that athleticism, you’re going to be productive. You knew he was athletic the way you saw him move around.”
In other words, Fruean played like Nick Emmanwori of the Seahawks, a disruptor who seemingly can play several positions on defense.
There also was a mischievous side to this rangy kid during the month of April.
While the rest of the Huskies were spread out on an East Field sideline stretching before practice No. 7 got underway, Ramzak persuaded senior edge rusher Hayden Moore to spar with him. Without gloves. Bobbing and weaving.
Earlier following practice No. 4, Ramzak introduced himself to the media without doing an interview. While Fisch was addressing a large group, the teenager snuck up behind the coach and began waving. In other words, Fisch got photo-bombed.
“He doesn’t turn 18 until November,” Walters said. “So he’s still a kid and sometimes that kind of shows. But we’re definitely blessed to have him here.”
What he’s done: Fruean originally committed to UCLA before flipping to the Huskies late in his recruitment. He played the 2024 season as a junior at Bethel High School and as an inside linebacker alongside Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, who joined the Huskies last year. He now gets into a stance at times next to fellow freshman Colman-Brusa, a tandem that just begs for an NIL-backed promotion: Fru and Bru, coming to a backfield near you.
Starter or not: That’s a most interesting question. Starting might not happen right away, but Fruean is an instant playmaker, so much that he might play his way into the opening lineup at some point this coming season. He’s put on 20 pounds since enrolling early at the UW and could add another 10 this summer.
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