Six months after Achilles injury, linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui is back for the Huskies
Late in the first quarter Friday night in Tucson, Zion Tupuola-Fetui made his way into the backfield.
When the ball was snapped, the Washington Huskies’ sophomore outside linebacker was quick off the line. He pushed his way around Arizona’s right tackle, chased down Will Plummer, spun him around once, and dropped the quarterback to the turf for a 12-yard loss, forcing an early punt in a game UW eventually went on to win.
It was Tupuola’s first sack since he unloaded a single game career-high three against Utah last November. His first sack since he finished the shortened season last fall as the FBS leader in sacks per game after finishing with seven in four appearances. His first sack since those numbers earned him All-American and All-Pac-12 honors. And his first sack since returning to the field this season, following a six-month recovery process from an Achilles injury in the spring.
After Tupuola-Fetui wrapped up the quarterback, he made a dash toward UW’s sideline, celebrated with his arms outstretched, and engaged the crowd with a smile.
After spending each day since April working his way back, he has now returned ahead of schedule, played in two games for the Huskies, and made an impact in both. He has at least five remaining as this season continues with a trip to Stanford this weekend.
Tupuola-Fetui reflected Wednesday on the past six months, noting more than once how he happy he is to be back on the field.
“I’m thankful,” he said. “I was looking at one game this year the day I got hurt, and now I’m sitting here with seven for sure. So, it feels good. I’m just thankful to be here.”
He remembers the play he was injured. UW was about a week into spring practices, and he was ready to build on his impressive showing from fall.
“I was getting back up, felt fine, went to walk on it, couldn’t,” he said. “That’s really all there was to it. … Even as they took me off the field I’m like, ‘We’re going to tape it up. I’m going to be fine. Maybe it’s just a little stinger or something.’ And then kind of coming to the realization, like getting into the training room I’m like, ‘I don’t need an X-ray to tell me that something’s off.’ And so, it was a hard day for sure.”
A possible return was projected for 6-10 months, maybe in time for a bowl game appearance. He set out to return earlier, with next month’s game against Oregon as his original target. He beat it by three weeks, when the Huskies hosted UCLA on Oct. 16.
“It’s just blessings,” he said. “I’ve got a great staff behind me and great brothers supporting me. It wasn’t as difficult a process as it could have been, just with all the support I have, family, friends and everyone I have here in Washington.”
Huskies coach Jimmy Lake predicted early on Tupuola-Fetui would return more quickly than anticipated.
“I remember the day he got injured,” Lake said the first day of fall camp in August. “He’s smiling and he was like, ‘Coach, I’m going to come back way quicker than the experts think.’ “
Lake said the Huskies knew Tupuola-Fetui “was going to attack his rehab,” and that’s what happened.
“It started off early in my rehab,” the linebacker said. “Something as silly as, the only thing I could do in the splint was wiggle my toes. I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll be the best toe-wiggler in the world.’ “
Tupuola-Fetui said he could only add on about one new exercise per week as he worked through his physical therapy.
“I just kind of told myself PT never stops, so I was at home doing the whole PT through and through again,” he said. “If I’m watching TV, I’m doing PT. If I’m doing homework, I’m wiggling my toes. So, it was just a drive to get back onto the field.”
The result? He beat every benchmark doctors and trainers set for him along the way, Lake said in August.
“It’s all really his drive and his competitiveness, and how he was itching and scratching to get back on the football field,” Lake said then. “That’s what it is. He’s been in that weight room, in the training room every single day, bugging our trainers, what can he do extra?
“His body looks great. He’s at the weight he wants to be at. He looks slimmer, faster, more explosive. … It’s just awesome to watch, and it’s awesome for the rest of our team to watch how you attack your rehab, and how you get your body back right after an injury like he had.”
Lake announced the week of the UCLA game Tupuola-Fetui had returned to practice, and participated in his first fully padded practice. When the Huskies entered the stadium that Saturday, and took part in the Dawg Walk — when they arrive pregame, line up on the east goal line and walk together to midfield — Tupuola-Fetui walked with them.
He made his season debut during UW’s first defensive series against the Bruins, and played a limited 10 snaps in the game, per Pro Football Focus, but made a noticeable impact. He made his way into the backfield more than once, recording three quarterback hurries and one hit on UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
“I would assess it with flying colors,” Lake said postgame of Tupuola-Fetui’s return. “And I probably would have said that with him just taking one rep. There’s not many people that can come back from that injury in six months and go out there and play in a college football game at that level.”
Last week in Tucson, he played 24 snaps on defense, tallying a pair of tackles, another quarterback hurry and the sack of Plummer.
Lake expects Tupuola-Fetui’s snap count to continue to increase as the Huskies move forward in the season.
“I’m so proud of him,” Lake said this week. “He continues to put the work in, and I can just see him every game from here on out improving and having even more of an effect on the quarterback.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
