How the Huskies Might Redraw a New Offensive Line for 2023
As trophies were handed out and balloons were dropped from the Alamodome ceiling, the extra-stout guys stood off to the side of the Alamo Bowl celebration, posing for photos together while wearing weary yet satisfied smiles, soaking up a final conquest.
Offensive guards Jaxson Kirkland and Henry Bainivalu, plus center Corey Luciano, all season-long starters and well-worn seniors, were done as University of Washington football players and quietly saying their goodbyes.
In this day and age of early opt-outs, these Husky offensive linemen were stepping away with 16 long seasons of UW football time put in, able to walk out on their own terms and exiting as 27-20 winners over Texas in their final outing side by side by side in San Antonio.
Their collective departure now creates the biggest gap in a UW football lineup that numbers-wise remains well fortified for 2023 and basically will require what boils down to open tryouts in the spring and the fall to find adequate replacement parts for protecting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and opening holes for the running-back corps before launching another season.
However, these new first-teamers will come hand-picked from within the program, rather than through the transfer portal, for reasons that Husky coach Kalen DeBoer recently spelled out while welcoming five newly signed offensive-line recruits.
Unlike the other UW manpower groups, this position area will need to be developed, both physically and mentally, by the DeBoer coaching staff, specifically line coach Scott Huff.
"I think that position is a developmental position," UW coach Kalen DeBoer said of his O-linemen in general. "You've got to develop them and they've got to be here. Finding transfers at offensive line all the time is a slippery slope that we don't want to live on."
There are many strong candidates to consider for the vacant full-time jobs up front, but this impending Montlake offensive-line makeover could have a fun and endearing family theme to it.
The Huskies could turn to the Hatchett brothers from Ferndale, Washington, for two of the three new starters.
Geirean and Landon.
Soon to be a fourth-year sophomore (using pandemic eligibility allowances) and an incoming freshman.
One's a 6-foot-4, 303-pound right guard, the other a 6-foot-3, 292-pound center.
The DeBoer staff did everything it could to get the well-regarded Geirean Hatchett on the field in all 13 games this season, even using him as blocking tight end and a special-teams player. Always a highly regarded player, he chose to come to the UW over offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and several others.
Landon Hatchett, who signed a letter of intent more than two weeks ago after choosing the UW over Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M and USC, has the natural strength and athleticism to play immediately as a freshman similar to Nick Harris, the former Husky center now in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns. Similar to Harris, this Hatchett stands to be versatile enough to play any position on the line.
"Landon is probably more of an inside guy but he's going to be an animal in there," DeBoer said.
Whether or not the Hatchetts win these starting jobs right away, they'll likely end up there at some point, which means these siblings could find themselves going head to head in Husky practice some day against the Parker brothers, 6-foot-3, 312-pound Jayvon and 6-foot-3, 314-pound Armon, the UW's massive defensive tackles from Detroit.
That said, the following is an early look at the impending position battles for what arguably will be the Huskies' most pressing position-area upgrade by the numbers:
CENTER
The 6-foot-6, 300-pound Matteo Mele, soon to be a sixth-year senior from Tucson, Arizona, will be the early leader in the clubhouse for this position. He's appeared in 29 career games, including all 13 this past season, and started once back in 2019. Others who received long looks in this spot in practice were 6-foot-3, 301-pound Owen Prentice, a Seattle product who will be a third-year redshirt freshman and hasn't played in a Husky game yet, and 6-foot-2, 263-pound Parker Brailsford, who will be a second-year redshirt freshman from Mesa, Arizona, and likewise hasn't been used. And, of course, Hatchett.
RIGHT GUARD
The older Hatchett has been groomed to be next year's breakout offensive lineman, much like classmate Roger Rosengarten was this past season as the newly installed starting right tackle. Hatchett will battle for the No. 1 job with 6-foot-3, 319-pound Myles Murao, a Torrance, Calfiornia, product who will be a fourth-year sophomore. Murao arrived at the UW much like Geirean Hatchett and Rosengarten did, as a highly touted player who had other offers from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, USC and more. Murao, who played in four games this past season, simply has had difficulty staying healthy since joining the college ranks, dealing with knee issues. Yet another player to consider could be incoming 6-foot-6, 275-pound freshman Zach Henning from Aurora, Colorado.
LEFT GUARD
If he wins this job as expected, Nate Kalepo will be the most experienced of the three new starters when counting overall snaps. Soon to be a 6-foot-6, 316-pound fifth-year junior, the Renton, Washington, product brings 25 career games played and he started the first three outings of this past season while the Huskies were awaiting Jaxson Kirkland's return. Gaard Memmelaar, from Caldwell, Idaho, and a 6-foot-4, 304-pound fourth-year sophomore, received his first game action this season, appearing in four outings. Another possibility might be Julius Buelow, a huge 6-foot-8, 317-pound junior to be from Kapolei, Hawaii. DeBoer's staff converted him to a left tackle this past season, but Buelow was a five-game starter at left guard in 2020 and he's appeared in 24 career Husky games.
These are the candidates for the line vacancies that now exist. Let the heavy winter weight-lifting followed by serious spring head-knocking begin.
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