Top Returning Huskies: New Center Matteo Mele is No. 9
Washington returns a bevy of pieces from its top-10 scoring offense from last season. Aside from quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the only other player that touches the ball on every snap is the center. Heading into 2023, Matteo Mele, a sixth-year senior, is the man tasked with leading the Huskies' offensive line.
Mele spent the entire 2022 season as the back-up center behind senior Corey Luciano, the third-highest ranked player at that position in the Pac-12 Conference, according to Pro Football Focus.
A former three-star recruit who signed with the Huskies as part of the 2018 recruiting class out of Salpointe Catholic in Tucson, Arizona, Mele is the only lineman on the team with at least a start at center entering the coming season.
He drew his first and only career starting assignment in 2019 at Arizona — a 51-27 victory for UW — and played in five games in Chris Petersen’s final season. Since missing the first two games of the 2021 season against Montana and Michigan, the veteran lineman has played in every game for UW.
Although he didn't start, Mele gained a lot of position knowledge from his predecessor.
“I definitely learned a lot as far as work ethic,” Mele said of Luciano. “I think Corey was probably one of the hardest workers off the field that I’ve met, in terms of watching film and doing the extra stuff. That kind of mentality definitely rubbed off a little bit.”
Both Luciano and Mele share a similar trait that UW offensive-line coach Scott Huff preaches to his players: versatility.
Mele was recruited as an offensive tackle out of high school but knew once he arrived at UW that he would be coached into a well-rounded lineman. Most of the offensive lineman Huff has coached have played at least two if not three or more positions at one point or another.
Having a strong grasp of what each position entails gives Mele an inside edge over redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford when coupled with his experience in the program. At 6-foot-6 and 298-pounds, Mele is also four inches taller and 23 pounds heavier than Brailsford.
“He played a lot for us last year," Huff said after Saturday's practice. "If you go back and watch the tape, he played a lot and he had earned that playing time. Matteo I feel like this summer took the next step in his leadership. He's just really taking extreme ownership out there on the field.”
It hasn't hurt that Mele has taken a majority of the reps with Penix, something that Luciano didn’t do last season.
“I don’t think we have much catching up to do,” Mele said. “Mike’s my boy. Obviously, we got a lot of snaps together last year in practice and a decent amount in games, so I think we’ve got a good chemistry going."
For UW to match or potentially exceed its scoring output from 2022, the quarterback-center relationship will go a long way in determining the offense’s success this fall.
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