Washington Huskies Defensive End's Status Changed For Game vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers

SEATTLE —The Washington Huskies football team seems to have avoided a potential missing starter on the defense for its upcoming Big Ten matchup.

The Huskies are set to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 5 p.m. PT on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb. In the team's injury report for the game Wednesday, first-year edge rusher Ramzak Fruean, who's started every game as a true freshman for the team to this point, was listed as out.

Fruean suffered a knee injury in the team's 38-26 win against the Purdue Boilermakers on Oct. 16 and was held out of practice last week due to the same ailment.

In the day since that injury report, Fruean's status for the game against the Cornhuskers looks a lot more optimistic, per head coach Jedd Fisch.

"Yeah that was actually (Wednesday's) report," Fisch said in a weekly news conference held via Zoom on Thursday. "We adjusted that today. He had a really good day of rehab yesterday, so he is now questionable for the game and I think he's trending the right direction to have some ability to play. We're not exactly sure what that ability will be. ... He was listed as out yesterday and then really had a fantastic day of recovery and rehab and woke up this morning in a lot better place."

The team has used an injured defensive player in a unique but limited capacity before. Third-year defensive back and starting nickelback Rahshawn Clark didn't play on defense but played on special teams in his normal role as a returner in the team's loss against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sept. 27.

The team could use Fruean, who's arguably the fastest defensive lineman on the team, in a similar capacity or play him in limited reps.

Fruean has 14 total tackles (12 solo) this season, including a half-sack and a half-tackle for loss in addition to pass defended.

Despite fifth-year edge rusher Russell Davis II being behind Fruean on the depth chart and fourth-year edge rusher Logan George being behind fellow fourth-year and starter Jacob Lane, the start Saturday will go to a different defensive lineman to start in place of the talented first-year.

Fifth-year edge rusher Isaiah Ward will start on the opposite end of the line from Lane. The former of the two has 13 total tackles this season (nine solo), including three tackles for loss and half a sack to go with one pass defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.