Fisch Says He's Comfortable with New UW Offensive Line

The Huskies have five new starters they will unveil against Weber State.

Enokk Vimahi has earned a UW starting job at right offense guard. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Dressed in shorts, Jedd Fisch stood at a podium to address the media that cover his University of Washington football team. This was a slightly different approach from his Husky coaching predecessors who preferred to sit and speak, plus those other guys always seemed to wear long pants.

On Monday, Fisch was less formal in some ways, more so in others. Either way, it's definitely a new era for UW football with the season opener against Weber State less than a week away.

That said, what ultimately determines success for Fisch's first team in Montlake will be no different than it was for Chris Petersen, Jimmy Lake or Kalen DeBoer, and he knows it. It's all about the big boys up front.

"I put up a quote here today from Vince Lombardi where he said football is about two things -- blocking and tackling," the first-year UW coach said. "We've got to be good at those two things. If we're not good at those things, the rest of it doesn't matter."

Unlike those prior Husky coaches, Fisch has been challenged to replace an entire starting offense line from the Husky team that played Michigan for the CFP national championship. That included finding players to succeed offensive tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten, first- and second-round NFL draft picks, though Fisch said some would argue they were both first-rounders.

The verdict on the Husky replacements?

"On the offensive line, I feel far better than I did going into training camp, now that I've seen these guys compete," Fisch said.

Fisch and his staff have settled on a starting front five of two holdover players inherited from the program and three transfers.

They are left tackle Soane Faasolo, a 6-foot-8, 295-pound redshirt freshman awaiting his first UW game action; left guard Gaard Memmelaar, a 6-foot-4, 299-pound junior coming back from a knee injury; center D'Angalo Titialii, a 6-foot-2, 325-pound senior and Portland State transfer; right guard Enokk Vimahi, a 6-foot-4, 301-pound senior and Ohio State transfer; and right tackle Drew Azzopardi, a 6-foot-7, 308-pound sophomore and San Diego State transfer.

Fisch spoke glowingly about Faasolo, currently the only one from last season's recruiting class of five touted linemen who holds down a first-team role.

"We felt really good about Soane's progress at left tackle," the coach said. "We thought he showed really good ability, not just in run block but pass protect. He's got great length and the body you want at left tackle."

Soane Faasolo goes up against Paki Finau in a blocking drill. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Fisch mentioned that he's received effective guard play from Memmelaar and Vimahi, two veteran players with much to prove in their first real shot at starting anywhere on the college level. He spoke about Azzopardi becoming the first to secure a first-team job.

At center, the coach noted how sophomore Landen Hatchett is available but still coming back from his knee injury, with his snap count still uncertain. While getting the numbers mixed up, Fisch referenced how quarterback Will Rogers with his 40 starts at Mississippi State and Titialii with 28 at Portland State give him an overly experienced center snap combination.

Defensively, Fisch pointed out how Javon Parker has come back from a spring knee injury to put himself in position to make his first start, though he still has to get through the week.

"Whether in the next four days we're fully comfortable in starting him or not, we'll have to see that," the coach said. "Certainly prior to his injury he would have been a certain game starter at this point."

Arizona transfer Kevin Green Jr. showed plenty of athleticism before getting injured in the intrasquad game. / Skylar Lin Visuals

One UW player who won't be available for the Weber State game is sophomore wide receiver Kevin Green Jr., an Arizona transfer who was injured in the intrasquad game on Aug. 17 and had to be helped off the field with what looked like a knee or leg injury. His coach said Green won't return until the bye week that begins on Oct. 14.

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