Azzopardi All That's Left From 2024 Line, Which Is a Good Thing

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 5:54 PM ET

Drew Azzopardi has a lot of NFL variables, beginning with his 6-foot-7 height combined with his streamlined 315-pound frame.

Yet he's faced with the stigma of being the only remaining full-fledged starter from a 2024 University of Washington offensive line that has been pilloried throughout the offseason for its ineptness.

Azzopardi supposedly has even heard an insult or two in practice from one of his more brash new teammates who wasn't afraid of bringing up the past and trying to hurt his feelings.

Which brings everyone to a little more than a week before a new season begins with an almost total replacement line.

The new starters in Kansas State transfer Carver Willis, the Hatchett brothers Landen and Geirean, and either freshman phenom John Mills or the precocious redshirt freshman Paki Finu, are guaranteed upgrades over the 2024 starters.

The big question: will Azzopardi be demonstrably better?

"We talked and I said, 'I'm very happy with what you've done, but there's a lot of work left and we're not even close,' " offensive-line coach Michael Switzer said when fall camp began.

While Azzopardi brings his exemplary size to the action, the next step for the Huskies is to light more of a fire inside him and bring out the physicality necessary for ably protecting sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in the pocket, enabling junior wide receiver Denzel Boston to get open and maybe turning senior running back Jonah Coleman into a 1,500-yard rusher.

There can be no more disastrous if not hapless 10-sack days such as there was against Oregon when everyone, including the right tackle, raised a white flag and surrendered up front during the Ducks' 49-21 rout in Eugene.

Azzopardi, because of his size, enters the season as a 19-game starter combined at the UW and San Diego State and the one guy you don't give up on.

In a fall scrimmage, he's already shown more attitude when he led a convoy around his right end and demolished a Husky defender with a crushing block.

Now it's time to carry this all over to real time.

"It's just build more confidence for me," Azzopardi said. "I've worked really hard this offseason to get bigger, get faster and get stronger, and I think it's really working out well right now."

For now it's mind over matter, but when someone such as Ohio State comes to town, the matter will be all that counts for Azzopardi.

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This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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