Husky Roster Review: 4 Years Later, Mele Gets Another Chance at Starting
It's been 35 games since Matteo Mele started for the University of Washington football team. Three and a half long-winding seasons. Two Husky coaching changes ago.
On Oct. 12, 2019, Mele opened as the No. 1 center against the Arizona Wildcats — in his hometown of Tucson — as a replacement for an injured Nick Harris, snapping the ball to Jacob Eason. Oh, the places everyone has been since then.
In a 51-27 victory, this young guy apparently held up well in front of friends and family, helping open holes for running back Salvon Ahmed, who found the end zone on three short touchdown scampers. The wire services even circulated a photo of the replacement center lifting Ahmed into the air following one of the six-pointers.
Yet Mele since has had to watch from the sidelines as the Huskies turned to upperclassmen Luke Wattenberg and Corey Luciano for starting centers once Harris used up his eligibility and moved to the NFL.
"I don't want to say I've waited for my opportunity, but I feel like I've waited for awhile," Mele said. "I've been ready to take what comes my way."
Thirty-five games of starter inactivity typically means you've been branded as a career back-up and your time as a first-teamer has come and gone. Not so with Mele. Consider how UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb describes this sixth-year senior in the following glowing terms, "Teo has got maybe as big a tool set as anyone on the offense."
So where's he been all this time?
Going down the roster from No. 0 to 99, Mele, who wears No. 78 all to himself, is next up in a series of profiles about each of the Huskies' scholarship players and assorted walk-ons, summing up their spring football performances and surmising what might come next for them.
The current Husky coaches like to say physical prowess is just part of the job of being an effective college football center. Maybe even more importantly he has to be able spot the moving parts in front of him and be able to call them out for everyone to know.
The 6-foot-6, 295-pound Mele is as mobile and athletic as you'll find in a center, yet he's a little on the quiet, serious side, which quite possibly is all that's held him back. Grubb flatly says he wants him to work on his communication skills. Which means, start yelling your head off between the lines.
Other than that, Mele has paid his dues, moving from reserve center to guard to tackle and back. The Husky staff thought so highly of him in 2022, it played him in all 13 games. These coaches still didn't start him, but they swapped him in for Luciano with games on the line in order to keep him connected and interested with what they were doing.
Now it's Mele's turn to have the job all to himself as the Huskies replace three offensive-line starters and seek another impenetrable protection pocket.
The big Arizonan will need to be at his best all times. There might not be another position on the team like center, where it runs three deep with high-quality candidates, with Mele backed up by redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford and freshman Landen Hatchett, players the UW wants to get on the field as soon as possible.
For the sixth-year senior, it's his turn. Definitely his opportunity. Others will have to get out of his way now. "It's definitely challenging," Mele said. "Everyone who comes out here is ultra competitive. ... Waiting is not easy."
MATTEO MELE FILE
Service: Mele has appeared in 29 career games and started just the one at Arizona in 2019. In his five previous seasons, he's played 0, 5, 1, 10 and 13 games.
Stats: The key stat with Mele is one. Just one game-opening assignment in five seasons. Which seems kind of mind-boggling.
Role: The Huskies have talked up Mele to the point he finally should be the starter without a question. Yet he has very talented guys playing behind him, so there will be no coasting on the job.
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