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Husky Roster Review: UW Hopes This Guy Can Be Lynchpin

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Jun 22, 2025 12:10 PM ET

When University of Washington spring football ended, Jacob Lane and Isaiah Ward were the No. 1 edge rushers.

Out of uniform and watching off to the side were Zach Durfee and Russell Davis II, talented guys capable of starting but dealing with injuries. Last season, they showed they could really get after it with 2.5- and 3-sack games, respectively, with Davis being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

Deshawn Lynch, who started four games on the edge for the Huskies in 2024, wants to be taken seriously, as well.

At 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, he's by far the heaviest of all of the job candidates in this position group by nearly 50 pounds. In his sixth season of college ball, which has included four years at FCS Sacramento State, he's the oldest of these guys.

The message to Lynch from his coaches has been this: he's needs to let out it all hang out this coming season with his career in the home stretch. He's apparently been listening.

"He's really taken it to the next step with the physicality piece," edge coach Aaron Van Horn said. "We really challenged him physicality-wise."

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

With his experience and size, Lynch definitely needs to show more results, especially if he wants a sniff at an NFL career.

In 12 games for the UW, he came up with 21 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and a sack, plus 2 pass break-ups.

Those were modest numbers for sure for a guy who has something different to offer in terms of body shape at his position.

"It's rare that you find a guy who weighs 300 pounds like he does and moves like he can in space, and plays physical," Van Horn said. "He's a really athletic guy,"

During spring ball, Lynch had his moments at times while rotating between the No. 1 and 2 defensive units.

In practice No. 9, he swatted down a Demond Williams Jr. pass at the line of scrimmage.

In the closing Spring Game, he got through to actually manually sack rather than touch down freshman quarterback Dash Beierly, who had no contact limitations on him.

The Huskies also used him and Utah transfer Simote Pepa as down linemen in goal-line situations.

He'll play, but how much depends on him. The edge-rusher competition in fall camp should be fierce.

DESHAWN LYNCH FILE

What he's done: Counting the UW and Sacramento State, he's appeared in 35 career games, so he's got some miles on him. In 2023, he was a 13-game starter for his Big Sky team and finished with 4.5 sacks. So he's got possibilities.

Starter or not: Last season for the Huskies, he started against Northwestern, Michigan, Iowa and Penn State, so he's done it at the top level. He has 17 career starts at his two stops. He just needs to be more disruptive, which is what his coaches are telling him.

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

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