UW Offensive Line Goes Without Kirkland Again, Hangs in There

The Huskies also had Nate Kalepo and Troy Fautanu helped from the field against Michigan State.

Jaxson Kirkland didn't play. For the third consecutive game, the All-Pac-12 offensive tackle watched the University of Washington football team win while out of uniform from the sideline. 

Troy Fautanu, Kirkland's replacement, was helped off the field early in the fourth quarter, though he returned later to take more snaps in Saturday's 39-28 victory over Michigan State.

Offensive guard Nate Kalepo, Fautanu's fill-in at left guard while his teammate handles left tackle, likewise was escorted off the field by trainers late in the third quarter and was in street clothes in the tunnel when his teammates came off the field. 

So the Husky offensive line is a discombobulated mess, right? Just like last season?

Hardly.

Against the Big Ten opponent Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff continued to do an astute job of mixing and matching different people up front to protect quarterback Michael Penix Jr. — and the result has been no sacks for 12 consecutive quarters against MAC, Big Sky and Big Ten defenses and counting.

Granted, these Huskies working the trenches could do a much better job when blocking at the goal line — after twice getting denied with first-and-goal situations at the Michigan State 1 and the 2 — but that's fixable.

It's been a nightmarish 12 months for the 6-foot-7, 340-pound Kirkland, who got blindsided at Oregon State while pass-blocking and suffered an ankle injury that he played with for the rest of last season and then had surgically repaired.

Returning for a sixth season to improve his NFL draft stock, Kirkland probably has seen it plummet more by being unable to get back on the field. He simply hasn't fully recovered from a medical procedure that's just seven months old.

Both Kirkland and cornerback Jordan Perryman, who came up lame in the opener against Kent State, remained out against Michigan State after the coaching staff had been hopeful both players  might return to face the Spartans.

"I really, really thought they were going to play," DeBoer said. "Early in the week, I really thought we were in a good spot. Just the volume and just kind of where things were at, by the end of the week, it wasn't quite in the cards for those guys to step on the field. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to jinx it, because I felt maybe I did that last week, but hopefully we get Jaxson back for next weekend."

The Huskies rotated a pair of veterans in senior Corey Luciano and junior Matteo Mele at center for the third game. When Kalepo went down, the 6-foot-4, 294-pound Luciano moved over to guard and the 6-foot-6, 300-pound Mele took over at center and they played side by side.

When Fautanu went out, Julius Buelow was summoned to step in. Buelow, a 6-foot-6, 311-pound sophomore, started the first five games at left guard in 2021 and essentially is the third left tackle.

Only the right side of the UW offensive line, with 6-foot-7, 307-pound senior Henry Bainivalu at guard and 6-foot-6, 304-pound redshirt freshman Roger Rosengarten at tackle, has remained intact so far.

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