Washington Huskies in the NFL: Desmond Trufant Soaring To New Heights

At the end of last year, if you had asked me where I thought Desmond Trufant would be drafted after his senior year, I would have said 3rd to 4th round. If you had asked me where I thought he deserved to go, I would have said 3rd or 4th round. He put together a very solid junior year, and I definitely thought of him as a reliable, steady asset at one of the corner spots, but I didn’t think of him as a shut-down corner, a star of the defense.

Some of that perception was probably due to just how bad the Washington defense was all year. That was definitely a factor when it came to how scouts and other sports media types saw him. But I am also certain that Trufant simply played much better in 2013. The defense was better around him, which helped draw more attention to his on-field success, but the credit goes to him.

Oct 27, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies cornerback Desmond Trufant (6) before the game against the Oregon State Beavers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

As a result of the terrific corner-play I observed throughout the year, I trumpeted Trufant’s success often. I must have pointed out how he was the only corner to truly take Marqise Lee out of the picture at least three times, and I felt so daring when I said in November that I thought he should be at least a 2nd round pick, and that he would not slip past the 3rd.

Well, it turns out I wasn’t giving Trufant, or the scouts, nearly enough credit. Trufant has received rave-reviews as the best corner at the Senior Bowl, and within the last week it seems like the newspaper of every corner-needy city in the NFL has written a story on the corner’s rising draft stock, though the Trufant family side of things probably has something to do with it as well.

There is still the combine and Washington’s pro day to go, but right now it appears that most NFL teams are considering Trufant a 1st round talent. If that does indeed come to pass, Trufant’s rise will serve as a terrific example to any mid-level draft prospects that have one more college season to make an impression.