Trice Develops An Edge As People Continue to Question His Team

NEW ORLEANS — Bralen Trice hails from metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, a sprawling southwestern city of 1.6 million people just a few states away, but some of his Sugar Bowl media inquisitors here have looked at him as if he comes from Nome, Alaska, with a dog sled parked out front.

If we're going to make wild assumptions here, consider this deeply probing question from presumably a Southern journalist, who has maybe never been west of the Mississippi River. 

"Do you think the underdog might have anything to do with y'all being the farthest north and west, and y'all arrived on an Alaska Airlines jet?"  this notebook-carrying man asked of Trice in all seriousness.

By now, the University of Washington edge rusher, first-team All-Pac-12 selection, co-captain and projected NFL first-round draft pick, all in one, plus all of his teammates, have just about lost all patience with the ignorance directed at them and their Husky football team.

It takes a lot to rattle the normally soft-spoken Trice, who plays like a silent assassin in rooting opposing quarterbacks out of the pocket and putting them down hard. However, he and the other Huskies seemed to have come to the end of their tolerance for the willful ignorance continually directed at their unbeaten but perpetually underdog football team.

"I think it's crazy — just the level of disrespect we get," Trice told the media on Friday. "I can't really understand it, but it helps us because it makes us have our backs against the wall as we go into these games, ready to play even harder because we are the underdogs. You don't take anything for granted out there. We're grateful to be in the position we're at because of the hard work we put in. We can be the underdog. We can be on top and we'll come out with the win."

Pressed further about this by ESPN, Trice was surprising candid about Monday night's game with once-beaten Texas, which lost to the Huskies 12 months ago, yet has been installed as a 4.5-point favorite in the College Football Playoff semifinal game. 

"I want to go out there and smack them," the UW defender told the cable sports network, well away from that other guy who doesn't quite understand the nationwide reach of Alaska Airlines. "You know, I don't want it to be a close game. I want it to be pretty lopsided in our favor."

Trice is someone who had his way with the Longhorns just 12 months ago in the Alamo Bowl, earning Defensive Player of the Game honors in the UW's 27-20 victory in San Antonio. 

Still, all he hears now is how much better the Texas offensive line is than it was a year ago. This was pointed out to him by Texas writers, otherwise he might have missed it entirely.

Again, he shouldn't have to remind all of these fine gentlemen looking for a pregame angle that he hails from Phoenix, which is about double the population size of Austin, home of the Longhorns.

Rather than continue to play nice, the Husky stalwart sort of offered up a personal challenge, hoping that everyone hears it.

"I didn't read up on it too much, but they think they're great," Trice said of his opponents, unwilling to back down with the game coming into view. "I think we're greater."