Top Returning Huskies: At No. 3, Rosengarten Takes OL Lead Role
Washington junior right tackle Roger Rosengarten has turned another corner in the eyes of the coaching staff over the past eight months.
After completing his first full season as a starter in 2022 the former four-star recruit out of Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, took it upon himself to become a team leader at the start of winter workouts in January.
Although most offensive lines are built around the left tackle, Washington’s strength is flipped because starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. left-handed, which puts his blindside on the right instead of the tradition left for most quarterbacks.
With senior center Matteo Mele at No. 9, and junior left tackle Troy Fautanu at No. 5 on our countdown of the top returning Huskies, we feel Rosengarten is a cut above the others and have him at No. 3 on the list.
“There’s a seriousness about him in the offseason,” UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said of Rosengarten after the final week of fall camp.
UW offensive-line coach Scott Huff entered August tasked with replacing all three interior starters — left guard, center and right guard — from last season. Even though the players expected to fill those voids were on the roster and saw significant game time, only Fautanu and Rosengarten return as starters.
That veteran presence has shown up in camp with both tackles taking the time to help a number of younger linemen, specifically sophomores Parker Brailsford and Geirean Hatchett, get up to speed and play productive role this season.
Former UW right tackle Kaleb McGary, second from right, takes a moment with Roger Rosengarten, left, Gaard Memmelaar, second from left, and Geirean Hatchett, right, at 2019 Dirt Dawg Camp.
Roger Rosengarten / @roger_73r
“He’s one of the elite players out there, not just Troy,” Grubb said of Rosengarten. “I think both of them are more serious. I think they’ve done a great job of not making the moment too big where they just let it fall on their shoulders.”
Before Rosengarten came to UW as one of five offensive- line signees in the 2020 recruiting class, he met former Husky starting right tackle Kaleb McGary two months after he went in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft to the Atlanta Falcons.
Since that time, no other Husky tackle has been selected, with the UW's last two drafted offensive linemen coming at center — Nick Harris in the fifth-round to the Cleveland Browns in 2020 and Luke Wattenberg in the fifth-round to the Denver Broncos in 2022.
“Coach Huff always brings up clips for me,” Rosengarten said. “Kaleb did this back then or Trey [Adams] did this back then. I took a lot of pieces from their games and brought it to my own.”
Huff also compared Rosengarten to Ezra Cleveland, a former offensive tackle at Boise State who has become a starter at left guard for the Minnesota Vikings over the past two seasons after being selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.
“They’re longer, athletic guys who could bend,” Huff said of the comparison between Cleveland and Rosengarten.
“Kaleb was like 6-foot-8, mountain man strong. That’s a different body type than those guys. If you’re talking about build and power, flexibility, strength combinations, that’s who I’d compare him to.”
If Rosengarten can continue to grow into either one of those linemen this season, Penix won’t have to think twice about a single throw with his blindside secured.
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