30-Day Countdown: Day 16 — Breakout Defensive Player

The Washington defense is set to see a number of new starters emerge this season with incoming transfers, position changes, and young players ready to step up. But, who will surprise and breakout?

I’m considering players like Cam Bright and Jordan Perryman because while they have played a lot of their careers and could be said to have already “broken out” they have never played a game for Washington, are entering completely new situations, and have no guarantee of success. I would consider a big season from either player as a breakout.

With that, the list:

CB Jordan Perryman

When Perryman arrived as a transfer from UC Davis in the offseason, it was expected he would be an immediate contributor in the secondary rotation. With ample playing time available after the departures of Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon, Perryman has more than seized the opportunity and might be the team’s most impressive player through spring and fall camp. He’s a big and physical corner who’s been making life difficult on the wide receivers. If he has the type of season he looks poised to have, Perryman should be an All Pac-12 player. To go from an FCS transfer to all conference in one season would certainly constitute a breakout. I considered CB Davon Banks for this position as his name keeps popping up, and could force his way into the CB2 spot with his speed and ball skills. S Vincent Nunley could be a choice here as well - he is playing with the second team and seems to be a player the coaches would like to see make an impact.

ILB Cam Bright

Like Perryman, Cam Bright brings a wealth of experience and playing time with him to a position group that needs someone to take hold of the starting spot. He’s been taking reps with the starters and while he doesn’t have immense size, he’s fast, very physical, and a good run stuffer. He was named a team captain of Pitt’s 2021 ACC Championship team and his leadership in the middle of the defense could help fill the void that’s been there for seasons now. I don’t know if he has an all conference type of year ahead of him or not, but in 52 career games at Pitt he compiled 182 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and collected 4 pass break-ups, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception. If he can put it all together for a full season as a starter, he clearly has the potential to be a very disruptive defender.

DT Ulumoo Ale

Making the move from offensive line, you can say Ale has already been a surprise breakout out since he’s been a consistent starter at defensive tackle during camp. While he got injured and will miss most, if not all of the rest of fall camp, it appears likely he’ll slide right back into the starting lineup when healthy. At 6-6 340, he certainly has the requisite size to be a two gap defender and he showed some impressive movement skills during his stint on the offensive line. Not to mention, Ale was a three-time Australian Golden Gloves Heavy-weight boxing champion, which hopefully will translate into top level hand fighting techniques to keep opposing linemen off of him. He also gave up rugby in order to focus on football. Suffice it to say, his athletic potential is off the charts and if he settles into the new position (semi-big if), he could rebuild a Washington run defense that has been taking steps back for years. An honorable mention all conference selection could be considered a breakout season for Ale.

EDGE Bralen Trice

Trice is a player who has been slowly coming along and last year he finally got to show some of his immense potential by getting his first two career sacks. While ZTF gets a lot of the attention, Trice appears to be a starter as he combines the best of both ZTF’s pass rush ability and Jeremiah Martin’s fortitude against the run. His burst and length make him tough to deal with and it just feels like he’s going to take another leap forward this season. Whenever the coaches bring up the pass rush, you can sense their optimism and it’s not hard to project Trice being a double digit sack type of player in college.

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ILB Alphonso Tuputala

In a bit of a surprise since spring, the 6-2 238 pound Tuputala has been running with the ones at linebacker along with Cam Bright. When asked why, coaches praised his physicality and how he takes on blockers. Like Bright, he has a chance to be the run stuffer in the middle this defense has sorely lacked. The fact that he’s playing ahead of Kris Moll, who has multiple highly productive all conference seasons under his belt, should indicate the level at which Tuputala is currently playing. Co-DC and linebackers coach William Inge loves his physicality at the point of attack and has the potential to be a real tone setter for the defense. If he winds up as a thumper in the middle of the defense from a guy with a 7 tackles in two years, that’s a breakout.

And the winner is...

Jordan Perryman, who I consider the player on this list with best chance at having his best possible season. I get the feeling he has a 1st team All Pac-12 season ahead of him and will be a star for the short time he’s at Washington, helping to ease the post McDuffie/Gordon transition. A player moving up from the FCS ranks is never a sure thing, so vaulting to one of a P5 conference’s best players would be a big surprise.