Rosengarten Says Loss of Mele Was Devastating to Husky Linemen

Everyone on the University of Washington football team seemed so happy and upbeat following each of the three lopsided victories, yet an undercurrent of pain and suffering ran below the surface for these guys.

For all of their good fortune, the Huskies have lost four players to season-ending injuries over the past month alone in starting center Matteo Mele and back-up cornerback Davon Banks in the Tulsa game, and reserve offensive guard Gaard Memmelaar and starting running back Cam Davis at the end of fall camp.

Mele's loss was particularly hard for him and his fellow offensive linemen to comprehend because the veteran player had waited so long and worked so hard to become the Huskies' No. 1 center, going three-plus years between game-opening assignments.

The 6-foot-6, 298-pound sixth-year senior from Tucson, Arizona, was injured early in the fourth quarter against the Golden Hurricane and came off the field with a bicep injury.

The Huskies were up 36-10 at the moment, but had to deal with an emotional loss for them.

"As soon as that happened, I came to the sideline off the drive that he went out on and I was devastated for him, I know," offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten said. "I was upset. He was upset. A lot of guys were upset because that's something you can't really go week to week with and be back in three weeks."

Instead Rosengarten, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound sophomore, was left to text his buddy before and after the surgery, and then he and the others received messages of encouragement from the recovering Mele while they were beating Michigan State 41-7 without him.

The Huskies were able to patch together a solid offensive line because redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford easily made the transition from right offensive guard to the man in the middle and junior Julius Buelow, a 2021 starter for half that season, took the open guard spot.

"Injuries are part of the game," Rosengarten acknowledged. "That's one thing about our O-line is it's flexible."

A lot of people thought the Huskies played the perfect game in East Lansing, especially after running up 713 yards of total offense and once again giving up no sacks — reluctantly doing so with a new center.

Yet the thing about this veteran Husky line is it's never truly satisfied.

"We're always our harshest critics," Rosengarten said. "We went three possessions where we didn't score touchdowns. We had field goals on a couple of drives, a couple of punts. I think a perfect game for us is that every time we touch the ball we want to score."

Perfect also would mean these guys still had a healthy Mele calling the shots up front, sharing in the impeccable pass protection and celebrating rather than watching from afar.

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