UW Spring Preview: OL Has First Major Remodel in Four Years

The Husky starting tackles are back, but the interior needs a makeover.

Author:
Dan Raley
Publish date:
Mar 3, 2023 12:20 PM EST

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For the first time in four seasons, the University of Washington offensive line will undergo a major remodel, swapping out three of the five starters, sort of like putting in a new kitchen, laundry room and home office.

When the 2019 season ended, Nick Harris, Trey Adams and Jared Hilbers each said good bye to the Montlake trenches after their lengthy service was up while returnees Luke Wattenberg and Jaxson Kirkland each drew new first-unit assignments, all of which opened up spots for Henry Bainivalu, Ulumoo Ale and Victor Curne.

This time, the UW offensive-line changes won't be quite so dramatic with starting tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten returning to their familiar roles as highly productive and well-decorated players guarding the flanks. Fautanu was named second-team All-Pac-12 while Rosengarten was singled out as a freshman All-America recipient. They have plenty of experience, with 16 and 13 games as starters, respectively.

However, replacing the interior line still will require taking sledgehammers to the existing walls and making plenty of room for new fixtures.

With spring football practice getting an extra-early start on Monday, we're taking a hard look at each personnel group going into the 15 workouts stretched out over 47 days that end with a spring game, and the Husky offensive line is on the clock here.

Kalen DeBoer's staff rightfully will let veteran players have the first shot at winning the available jobs, guys such as Matteo Mele, Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow. Each has started a handful of games or a game while they've patiently waited for something more substantial to come their way.

Finding a reliable center will be as important as any position battle for this team over the next six-plus weeks.

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The 6-foot-6, 300-pound Mele is the leading candidate. He enters his sixth and only season in which he can become a full-time Husky starter, so the pressure is on him to respond in a positive manner to this challenge. His coaches have made it a point to sell everyone on his athleticism carried by a big frame. They put him on the field for all 13 games in 2022, with offensive guard Geirean Hatchett and Mele the only back-up linemen rewarded in this manner.

The coaching staff wants Mele to step into the role in the same savvy manner that Corey Luciano, another journeyman player who was a fill-in, did a year ago. The Arizona native has just one UW start to his name — replacing an injured Harris at center in 2019 against the Arizona Wildcats as a redshirt freshman in his hometown.

He'll be in the starting lineup on Sept. 2 against Boise State, hearing his name called out over the public-address system and popping pads in the locker room with teammates like John Matuszak did in the film North Dallas Forty ... unless Landon Hatchett gets in his way.

This Hatchett, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound freshman from Ferndale, Washington, and younger brother of Geirean, could prove to be the most ready to play of all of the newly signed high school recruits coming in. He was heavily recruited. He has a confidence about him that suggests he's not going to intimidated by anything and expects to play early.

Other center candidates are 6-foot-2, 263-pound redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford, who is still undersized and didn't appear in a game in 2022 but was named Scout Team MVP when the season ended, and 6-foot-3, 301-pound sophomore Owen Prentice, who hasn't played on Saturday yet over two seasons.

The 6-foot-6, 316-pound Kalepo should step in at left guard and ably replace Kirkland as the starter. Why not? He did it last season for three games while Kirkland came back from surgery and got his NCAA affairs in order to play a sixth season.

On the right side, the older Hatchett has been groomed for the spot and appears highly capable of settling it for a long stay, but the 6-foot-4, 303-pound sophomore will need to fend off a bunch of challengers who are each unique in their own way.

Buelow will get a long look after starting the first five games in 2021 at left guard before giving way to Ale (now on defense) and Fautane (now at tackle). A huge player at 6-foot-8 and 311 pounds and a junior, Buelow might need nothing more than to acquire a certain level of nastiness to make all that size pay off.

Offensive guards Myles Murao and Gaard Memmelaar, part of the 2020 class that supplied the UW with Rosengarten and the older Hatchett, have been slower to develop and each have played in four games of mop-up duty. Murao could be slowed by knee issues that have been chronic since he arrived.

While Fautanu and Rosengarten are well entrenched at the tackles and honors candidates, 6-foot-6, 279-pound Samuel Peacock and 6-foot-7, 291-pound Robert Wyrsch, both sophomores still building out their frames, remain behind them in development.

Besides young Hatchett, the Huskies welcome other freshmen in 6-foot-7, 280-pound Elishah Jackett, 6-foot-6, 300-pound Kahlee Tafai, 6-foot-6, 275-pound Zach Henning and 6-foot-8, 280-pound Soane Faasolo. All except Henning look like tackles. Jackett might be the first one of these four to get in a game.

The UW has the bodies up front, 17 on scholarship in fact, it just needs to make the chemistry work like it did in 2022. However, Kirkland, a three-time All-Pac-12 selection, won't easily be replaced. This is where the coaching comes in.

UW OFFENSIVE-LINE CANDIDATES

Troy Fautanu, 6-4, 312, Jr., played in 26 games, 16 starts, All-Pac-12 second team

Roger Rosengarten, 6-6, 303, So., played in 18 games, 13 starts

Matteo Mele, 6-7, 300, Sr., played in 29 games, 1 start

Nate Kalepo, 6-6, 316, Jr., played in 25 games, 3 starts

Julius Buelow, 6-8, 311, Jr., played 19 games, 5 starts

Geirean Hatchett, 6-4, 303, So., played in 13 games

Myles Murao, 6-3, 319, So., played in 4 games

Gaard Memmelaar, 6-4, 304, So., played in 4 games

Samuel Peacock, 6-6, 279, So., played in 2 games

Robert Wyrsch, 6-7, 291, So., hasn't played

Parker Brailsford, 6-2, 263, R-Fr., hasn't played