UW Notebook: Updates on Valdez, Durfee ahead of Iowa game

UW Huskies coach Jedd Fisch met with reporters Monday to look back at Washington’s 27-17 victory over Michigan, and look ahead to Saturday’s game at Iowa.

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Here’s what to know.

Fisch hopeful on Valdez

The Huskies already are playing without one of their top defensive linemen, junior Jayvon Parker, who tore his Achilles in UW’s loss at Rutgers and will miss the rest of the season. They managed to beat the run-heavy Wolverines without him, and also withstood the absence of senior starter Sebastian Valdez, who sat out most of the game with an arm injury.

Fisch said there was “no real update at this point” on Valdez’s status for the Iowa game, but also said he was “still expecting him to play on Saturday.”

Valdez played only 16 snaps before his injury Saturday, per Pro Football Focus, but he still leads UW interior defensive linemen with 210 snaps in six games, eighth-most on the defense. The Montana State transfer was first-team All-Big-Sky in 2022 and second-team last season. He’s fourth on the team with 21 tackles this season, and his 13 “stops” — tackles on plays that are unsuccessful for the offense — rank third on the team, per PFF, and first among interior d-linemen.

Without Parker, the Huskies relied more upon Miami transfer Logan Sagapolu than they had in any game this season. Redshirt freshman Elinneus Davis also saw more action. Both should be needed at Iowa regardless of Valdez’s availability.

Durfee still day-to-day for UW Huskies

It sounds as if junior edge rusher Zach Durfee will be playing through his toe injury for a while. He was considered a game-time decision for Michigan and wound up playing 20 snaps. Fisch said Durfee will continue to be day-to-day, and that UW’s Oct. 19 bye weekend will be key to his recovery.

“He’s pretty banged up, which has been the case, really, Mondays through Friday,” Fisch said. “We need this bye week to come up after this game on Saturday, to give ourselves that opportunity. It’s the halfway point of the season, which is a great time to have a bye, seven games into the year.

“We need him to have that full week of real recovery, I would say, before he’s playing at the level he played at in training camp. But we’ll see if he can go on Saturday.”

Senior tight end Quentin Moore will be out again this week, Fisch said, as will Kevin Green Jr., a sophomore receiver. Junior edge rusher Russell Davis II, though, should be cleared to play. He transferred from Arizona after totaling 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 2023 but has been rehabbing an injury and has yet to play at UW.

Early risers

Washington knew its move to the Big Ten would eventually lead to a 9 a.m. Pacific kickoff, and sure enough, FOX’s “Big Noon Saturday” found the Huskies in their first year.

In preparation for Saturday’s early game at Iowa, Fisch said the team will practice at 9 a.m. in Seattle on Thursday, fly to Iowa that afternoon, then conduct a Friday morning walk-through at 9 a.m. PT (11 a.m. CT).

The Huskies’ first Big Ten road game, at Rutgers, kicked off at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) on a Friday night, so UW traveled to New Jersey the day prior, as it would for most other games.

Fisch described Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium as “a very difficult place to play,” and noted the forecast of 77 degrees and sunny.

“It’s going to be a beautiful day,” Fisch said. “We’ve got to be ready for loud. We’ve got to be ready for energy. We’ve got to be ready for incredible fan support, and obviously a team that is built on toughness.”

This column from UW Huskies football insider Christian Caple is exclusive to Seattle Sports. Subscribe to OnMontlake.com for full access to Caple’s in-depth Husky coverage.

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