UW Welcomes Much Bigger Version of Colman-Brusa to Spring Ball The freshman edge rusher has put on nearly 30 pounds this winter. A year ago, that was John Mills emerging from infancy with the University of Washington football team to establish himself as a high-end player way ahead of his time on the Husky offensive line.Now comes Derek Colman-Brusa, same deal, same movie teaser. Yet he's beginning to find his way into the dumbstruck conversation circulating through Montlake these days that continually references Mills and his physical stature and now relates to this new guy's supposedly enormous possibilities. Colman-Brusa will enter Tuesday afternoon's first UW spring football practice at 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds -- up a whopping 28 pounds since he arrived on campus during the winter."I'd be shocked if he's not like a day one type starter," said Husky defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, the last guy prone to any hyperbole. "He's 6-5, almost 300 pounds. He can run. He's on the upper echelon of the strength numbers."While that weight gain typically would signal an immediate position change, Walters didn't seem all that bothered by the added body mass on Colman-Brusa as an edge as long he maintains his mobility. "He can play all the positions up front," the coach said. "We have to do a good job as a staff so we don't overload him, so he can just go play." Colman-Brusa isn't the only one in his family either who is walking around with a much bigger version of himself these days. Derek Colman-Brusa shares a wrestling moment with UW coaches, from left, Ryan Walters, Jason Kaufusi and Taylor Mays. | UW His older and heftier brother, Lowen, is a redshirt freshman offensive lineman, someone who showed up listed at 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds last season. He's packing a 6-foot-6, 326-pound frame on the current Husky roster.Spring ball will determine exactly the right position fit for Derek Colman-Brusa, who will wear No. 5 for the Huskies, which seems like more of an edge-rusher number.He still has to go out and prove all the hype about him is legit, but he's already got people talking about him. "He doesn't look like an 18-year-old kid who still should be in high school," Walters said. "So I'm really excited about what he's already brought to the table."Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendationsDan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.