Kalepo Redirects His Appetite to Husky Football, Readies for First Start

He'll open at left guard for the first time on Saturday night against Kent State.

Nate Kalepo looked and sounded a little uncomfortable when the subject of his weight was brought up last spring. 

With teammate Ulumoo Ale moving to the defensive line and asked to shed pounds in a hurry, Kalepo stood to become the heaviest University of Washington football player.

The school listed him at 330 pounds. At the time, he insisted it was 15 or so lighter than that.

"They be playing with my weight," the 6-foot-6 Kalepo protested, shuffling his feet. "Not no more, not no more."

As he said this in April, the nearest McDonald's restaurant was just three to four blocks away, on the very same street as Husky Stadium, at the intersection of Northeast 51st Street and 25th Avenue Northeast, beckoning him, calling out his name.

This particular set of Golden Arches long has been a UW football player favorite, a post-practice staple, a late-night escape. This handy drive-through remains the closest to campus. It's open 24 hours. 

For Kalepo, it was a place of comfort, where he could go, solve his hunger issues and placate any frustrations he might have over a football issue. He had a legendary order that he would consume over and over: Two Quarter Pounders, two McChickens, a large fry, an Oreo McFlurry and a large Coke.

On Saturday night, however, that McDonald's drive-through window will be the furthest thing from Kalepo's mind. He'll make his first college football start at left offensive guard against Kent State. He'll direct his hunger somewhere else.

He'll eat a prescribed meal and various snacks leading up to the 7:30 p.m. game, as determined by a nutritional staff. He'll pull on a purple jersey over a frame that now tips the scales at 310 pounds, down from 340.

Still a sophomore in eligibility, Kalepo has appeared in 13 UW games so far, but never before as the starter. He'll step in for Troy Fautanu at left guard, with Fautanu asked to open in place of left tackle Jaxson Kirkland, who is sitting out one game to satisfy the NCAA after he pulled out of the NFL draft. 

Wading through this, it is never easy. Playing time and corresponding starting assignments are doled out sparingly to a 100-plus player roster.

Still the Kent State game will be a moment to remember for Kalepo, especially after arriving three years ago as one of the top players in his recruiting class, a 4-star recruit from Seattle's Rainier Beach High School. 

As a UW freshman, he lost his mother, Kimberlee, to a long illness right before the holidays. Football was an eye-opener, where he was forced to stand in line for playing time. No wonder he ordered all of those Big Macs.

“It was humbling,” Kalepo acknowledged. "Coming from high school, you think you’re this, you’re that. You have 4 stars, 5 stars. But right when you get on campus you get humbled, because these are grown men you’re playing against.”

Kalepo feels inspired by the new Kalen DeBoer coaching staff and is more than willing to make sacrifices now to succeed, certainly able to pass on the McChickens and McFlurrys. 

"I like the vibe they bring, kind of like a Coach Pete vibe with their morals and all," he said, referencing his first Husky leader Chris Petersen. 

Kalepo has made himself stronger while becoming much more fit. He claims to have increased his squat lift from 405 pounds to an impressive 505 in just four months. He looks dapper and trim for a football player.

Seeking greatness, he wears No. 71 because he grew up watching former Husky All-America defensive tackle Danny Shelton, now in the NFL and a family friend he's known since childhood, make that shirt highly visible.

Most of all, when Kalepo is riding up 25th Avenue Northeast and he comes across that familiar McDonald's restaurant, his old haunt, he's able to drive past without stopping.

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