Kamren Fabiculanan keeps Washington football's Death Row defense alive

(This story has been updated to add new information)

At the Washington Huskies' preseason media day, senior safety Kamren Fabiculanan made a point to talk about the history of UW's “Death Row Defense,” a title held by linebackers Azeem Victor and Keishawn Bierria, among others, during the run of the UW Teams were minted in the US College Football Playoff in 2016.

“We've always been on death row,” Fabiculanan said in the preseason, referring to some of the players who preceded him on the back end of the defense, like Elijah Molden, Trent McDuffie and Myles Bryant. “We have some plans to bring that back this year.”

While the death row mentality may have always been there, this was not the case during production. The Husky defense struggled in 2022 and 2023 but has found new life in 2024.

Behind Fabiculanan's leadership and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick's implementation of a new plan, the Huskies have done just that. And not just in the secondary, where Washington is No. 2 in the nation in yards, but across the field.

The Huskies got their fifth goal-line stand of the season in their 26-21 win over the USC Trojans, as freshman linebacker Khmori House stood up as running back Woody Marks defended Washington's narrow lead in the fourth quarter. After the win, Fabiculanan, who recorded his second interception of the season in the win, one of three picks the Huskies forced that night, highlighted Washington's toughness on the goal line as one of the most important aspects of preserving Death Row's legacy.

“It just shows who Death Row is, and we're just trying to continue that tradition and pride of Death Row defense,” he said.

Coach Jedd Fisch has found a great hire in Belichick to ensure the Death Row tradition remains alive and vibrant at Montlake. Outside of the secondary, the Huskies rank 10th nationally in total defense and 21st in scoring defense. With a group that clearly still has some work to do defending the run, Washington's defense has shown major growth in 2024, becoming one of the Big Ten's best.