Molden, Onwuzurike Appear Set to Return to UW for Senior Seasons

Language warning on the following clip.

And for the following sentence. Let’s F***ing Go!

Elijah Molden and Levi Onwuzurike both indicated today via Twitter that they will not be leaving for the NFL draft and instead will come back for their senior years at Washington. Molden was named Vegas Bowl MVP for his play against Boise State last Saturday when he finished with 9 tackles and 1 interception. Molden led the Huskies in tackles (79), passes defended (12), and interceptions (4) on the season. He was named 1st team All Pac-12 for his exploits.

Joining him on that all-conference 1st team was DL Levi Onwuzurike who also will be coming back for his senior year. Mock drafts have generally had Levi in the 3rd round or so and so the announcement comes as a slightly bigger surprise. Levi finished the season with 45 tackles and 2 sacks as the anchor of Washington's defensive line. Without playing next to a true nose tackle like Greg Gaines for much of the year Levi had to maneuver through a lot more double teams than he has in years past which limited some of his pass rushing ability.

The dual announcements help to stem some of the angst fans surely felt when Jacob Eason announced this morning that he would be entering the draft. The offensive meeting room will need name tags come spring ball but the defense looks primed to return to the top of the Pac.

Myles Bryant, Brandon Wellington, Kyler Manu, and Benning Potoa'e are the only regular contributors moving on on that side of the ball. Bryant is the only one that doesn't feel easily replaceable with the talent elsewhere on the roster and there is still some depth at safety with Cam Williams and Asa Turner splitting safety reps this season 60/40 and veterans Brandon McKinney and Isaiah Gilchrist still on the roster. Hopefully that will provide plenty of support for a team that will go into the season opener against Michigan next year having to replace their head coach, OC, QB, 3/5 of the OL, and starting WR and TE.

Expect the 2020 Huskies to look much more like the Death Row defenses we have been used to seeing the past several seasons.