Zion Tupuola-Fetui came hopping off the field furiously on one foot as if he was on a pogo stick. The University of Washington edge rusher crashed into a training table trying to land on it.
As those in the stands watched someone attend to him, the immediate thought was ZTF didn't seem to have anything more than a badly sprained ankle.
After all, the 6-foot-4, 260-pound sophomore edge rusher from Pearl City, Hawaii, had left the field on his own power, unlike reserve offensive lineman Will Pliska, who a few minutes earlier broke his foot and had to be carried away by two people.
It would be a matter of days before coach Jimmy Lake almost nonchalantly revealed in a press briefing, well down his list of team disclosures, that ZTF, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, had ruptured an Achilles tendon and undergone surgery.
The media went a collective "Huh?"
Tupuola-Fetui was badly injured, out for a lengthy amount of time, unexpectedly lost to the Huskies.
The coach described the injury as requiring a substantial recovery period, worst case up to 10 months.
Everyone let the somewhat shocking news sink in, which was a real blow to Lake's program.
Fast forward six-plus months, and the coach, going through injury news again, teased the press corps once more.
At the end of an injury report, he said ZTF was "week to week."
Which means back at almost any time.
The defensive playmaker — who last season led the nation in sacks per game with 7 in four outings, including 3 that were strip sacks — very will could be in uniform for the Huskies (2-3 overall, 1-1 Pac-12) against the UCLA Bruins (4-2, 1-1) next Saturday at Husky Stadium.
Even ZTF joined in on the fun by tweeting the following, offering his own expectations.
Regardless of when he actually suits up and takes the field, this turnover machine and Husky heartbeat is just about done with an ordeal that relegated him to a subdued existence so unbefitting for him.
ZTF is a high-energy player who was always fidgeting in practice, always talking to everyone within earshot, always on the move.
Early in his recovery, he was seen zipping around the field recklessly on his injury-assigned scooter, to the point he crashed and got thrown off. He quickly hopped back on as if nothing happened.
When he wasn't attacking his rehabilitation, seen doing strenuous exercises accompanied by multiple trainers in Husky Stadium, he often seemed bored at practice. He resorted to playing long-ball catch with Laiatu Latu, a fellow edge rusher retired by a neck injury.
During Husky games, he tried to bring far less attention to himself, moving in and out of player groups along the sideline. However, against California, ZTF stood on a bench, waving a white towel, not in surrender, but for great encouragement.
Now he's week to week for the Huskies.
ZTF probably won't draw a lot of playing time at first, but his presence in helmet and pads should give this sub-.500 team an ample boost and maybe make it begin winning.
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