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New Look, Same ZTF Back to Business for Huskies

Originally posted on FanNation Husky Maven
By Lars Hanson | Last updated 8/7/23

Come kickoff time in less than a month, one University of Washington football player might be hard for fans to recognize on the sideline with his helmet off.

Sixth-year senior edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui did away with his long, golden-colored hair in favor of a basic down-to-business look.

It’s for a good cause.

“The haircut was my dedication to 'the Natty,' ” Tupuola-Fetui said after practice Friday, referencing a national championship. “I actually cut it right before we did our five weeks of training. I was in Rome for a little study abroad. I was like when I get back to the states it’s straight work. It’s time to win that Natty.”

Not only has he changed his look. He’s shed his former No. 58 in favor of No. 4.

“Fifty-eight went through a lot of injuries, a lot of learning, a lot of everything,” he said. “The last time I was able to just put on the pads, not think about it and just have fun, I was in high school wearing No. 4 and getting recruited. So, I just wanted to switch it up a little bit.”

After bursting onto the scene with seven sacks in four games during the Covid-shortened season in 2020, it seemed Washington had its next star off the edge. Yet the following spring, Tupuola-Fetui suffered a torn achilles injury that required six months of rehabilitation before he could return to the field.

He came back in a 24-17 loss at home to UCLA and made three pressures in 10 snaps. Tupuola-Fetui started three of the last five games in 2021 — at Stanford and in Husky Stadium against Oregon and Arizona State — without recording a sack and supplying only three pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

In former coach Jimmy Lake’s final season, UW finished with a 4-8 record and most players didn’t play up to their capability as a result.

Over the past year under Kalen DeBoer, a number of players have been properly coached up and Tupuola-Fetui has seen that first hand.

“I think I’ve always felt like I’ve had those elements in my game,” he said. “Now it’s more applying it and correcting my eyes, seeing the game more as to what it is. I needed a better overall understanding of what I was doing and why I was doing it. I think that’s something that’s come with this extra year of time that I was able to work with the coaching staff.”

Even though Tupuola-Fetui came off the bench last season behind senior Jeremiah Martin, it gave him an opportunity to learn and see the game from a different perspective. It also earned him his first-ever victory over Oregon.

“You can ask DeBoer, I told him I was coming back after the Oregon week,” he said. “I was already coming off the bench last year so I had a lot to think about. I finally got my first Oregon dub under the belt. I was like, 'All right, this coaching staff’s legit and I’ve got time so let’s come back.' ”

UW edge coach Eric Schmidt has noted over the past year the focus for Tupuola-Fetui has been to make him an all-around player — not just a pass-rush specialist, but a defender who can stay in and be counted on to stop the run as well.

“The thing I appreciate about him is he’s trying to work to become a more complete football player,” Schmidt said. “I just think the more you get to know that guy, the more interesting he is. He’s an authentic dude. He wants to do really, really well. He’s got a little bit of that kid at heart to him, which I think is really good. And then there’s time you've got to get serious and go to work here. We need your leadership. We need your effort to be at a better spot.

“But, yeah, as far as the hair goes and all that he’s still the same guy. He’s definitely a guy that over the course of our time here now we feel like we’ve got to get to know him and we can coach harder now because we’ve built a better relationship with him.”

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.

This article first appeared on FanNation Husky Maven and was syndicated with permission.

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