Newcomer Klemm Ready to Join UW O-Line Candidates

Jalen Klemm, shown working out this week while wearing purple University of Washington gear, is 10 days away from his first Montlake practice.

Yet no matter how much conditioning he puts into this offseason, he'll likely have his tongue hanging out and his chest pounding once he goes through a dizzying, up-tempo workout in fall camp under the direction of Kalen DeBoer and staff.

Klemm comes to the UW as a portal transfer pick-up from Kansas State, a most unique addition since DeBoer not too long ago said his preference was to recruit and develop offensive linemen rather than pluck them off someone else's college roster.

However, Klemm, the son of new New England Patriots' offensive-line coach Adrian Klemm, apparently is the exception because he's not that far removed from high school, coming to Montlake after a redshirt season at the Big 12 school and still retaining four years of eligibility.

Klemm left a Kansas State program that returns all five offensive-line starters for the UW, which is in the process of replacing three first-teamers up front and stands a good chance of swapping out three in 2024. Opportunity, it seems, brought him west.

At 6-foot-5 and 281 pounds, Klemm is 20 pounds heavier than when he first joined the Big 12 program but probably needs another 20 before he's ready for extended playing time on Saturdays.

He'll wear the UW's No. 70, recently vacated by once highly regarded lineman Owen Prentice, who left the program this spring, and last worn by a Husky starter in Jared Hilbers in 2019.

Jalen Klemm can play guard or tackle, but he probably begins on the outside where the UW back-ups are still untested Samuel Peacock and Robert Wyrsch, who have played in one game between them with each having been in the program for at least three seasons.

While DeBoer hasn't commented on Klemm yet, Kansas State initially signed him as a 4-star player and its highest-rated member of its 2022 class from Gibsonia, Pennsylvania.

Wildcats coach Chris Kliemann offered the following assessment of young Klemm last year when he welcomed him to his program:

"Jalen is a coach’s kid. He’s very athletic and really smart and physical. He’s a big guy who’s really going to help us on the offensive line. He and his mother came on their visit. Just like I would be, I want my son to be coached hard and treated right and fairly, and to get into an environment where he can learn and be cared for and loved. That’s the same thing his dad wanted. I had some good conversations with his dad. He knew we had a pedigree with getting NFL offensive linemen and I know that [line] coach [Conor] Riley did a phenomenal job with Jalen and hit it off with him. We were excited to sign him.”

Klemm's father, Adrian, had a 6-foot-3, 312-pound frame when he emerged from Santa Monica, California, to become a four-year starter at offensive tackle for the University of Hawaii and a second-round draft pick in 2000 for the Patriots — going four rounds higher than a fellow New England draftee that year, Tom Brady.

Adrian Klemm won three Super Bowls in his five seasons for the Patrtiots and spent a sixth season with the Green Bay Packers.

He coached collegiately at SMU and UCLA, joining Jim Mora Jr.'s staff at the latter, and spent last season at Oregon for Dan Lanning's new staff before returning to the NFL after spending three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff, but just 2021 as a full-time coach.

Jalen Klemm previously chose Kansas State over the Pac-12's Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Washington State, plus Kentucky, North Carolina State, Nebraska, Tulane, Rice, Florida Atlanta, Vanderbilt and others. Now he's at Washington, looking to see where the Huskies take him.

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