Hyde In Plain Sight: UW Freshman Debuts, Picks Up a Sack

Ninety minutes before kickoff for Saturday night's Washington-Colorado State football game, freshman edge rusher Devin Hyde was one of the few players for either team out on the field getting loose.

For several minutes, he stood in the West end zone, furiously boxing with a staff member. He used his hands in a manner that will help him fight through blockers and get into opposing backfields. When he was done, he bowed in a ceremonial martial-arts fashion.

By the end of the 38-21 victory, Hyde was taking more bows, singled out by coach Jedd Fisch for his late-game sack of Colorado State quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi -- the only one registered by a UW defensive lineman, inside or out, over 60 minutes of action.

With four minutes remaining in the season opener, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Hyde from Menlo Park, California, used a spin move to get past a flat-footed Rams blocker, chased down Fowler-Nicolosi on the sideline and gave him a diving shove out of bounds for a 7-yard loss.

For a month now, the Huskies have played a steady game of Hyde and seek. In other words, they've been looking for healthy pass rusher and have turned to the true freshman from Northern California as a solution.

As the UW edge ranks have thinned out at an alarming rate, Hyde has been given ample opportunity to play in the two-deeps.

"We had a couple of knick knack injuries that have sort of forced him to taking reps and he's taken advantage of the reps he's been given," defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said. "He plays with a relentless high motor, high physicality and is starting to understand what he can and can't do within a call. He gets better every day."