In preparation for his third season as the Huskies’ starting free safety, Taylor Rapp this offseason studied film of Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald, two of the NFL’s most-feared defensive players.
What could Washington’s 200-pound safety learn from an outside linebacker and a defensive tackle? When it comes to hunting quarterbacks, plenty.
“Those guys play on the D-line,” Rapp said Tuesday, “but it’s still a lot of hand-action fighting and movements. I’m always trying to learn new pass-rush moves.”
The new hand-to-hand combat moves indeed came in handy Saturday in the Huskies’ 45-3 romp of North Dakota, when Rapp successfully converted two safety blitzes into two quarterback sacks.