Former Washington D-Lineman's Stock Rising Heading Into 2026 NFL Draft

In between the DeBoer and Fisch era was more waiting for Durfee, who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA as a two-time transfer in the fall of 2023. Due to his initial college stint at NDSU as a general student, the governing body of college athletics denied an initial waiver and subsequent appeal in 2023 for the edge rusher to be able to suit up for the Huskies while the team made a push towards a national championship appearance vs. Michigan, a 34-13 defeat for UW.

After a judge's early December 2023 ruling, Durfee was able to make his first appearance for the Huskies against the Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl—UW won 37-31 in New Orleans—which paved the way for Durfee's first of three seasons in purple and gold.

His first season under Fisch in '24 saw the former Division-II walk-on make three starts and play in just six games for UW while battling through turf toe in both feet, another potential chance for his NFL dream to derail before it could ever start.

Durfee didn't let that happen.

He came back in 2025 as a senior and started 10 of 12 games for the Huskies. Durfee finished tied with junior edge Jacob Lane to lead the team with four sacks while also being one of four UW defenders to record a forced fumble. As detailed in ESPN's annual profile of an unnamed draft prospect, which is widely presumed to be Durfee, when healthy—either at Sioux Falls or UW—he's been able to produce, and in the lead up to the draft, the Minnesota native has caught the eye of numbers teams in the league.

Whether Durfee ends up hearing his name called over the next three days remains to be seen. He should, but if he does or doesn't, his play will earn him a roster spot as a rookie—provided he can shed the injury bug that plagued the early part of his UW career.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies pass rusher's stock rising heading into NFL Draft