Inside The Huskies

Huskies Hit the Portal for Offensive-Line Reinforcement

Washington added a player with a familiar football last name.
Roman Tomashoff|
Huskies Hit the Portal for Offensive-Line Reinforcement
Huskies Hit the Portal for Offensive-Line Reinforcement

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Washington Huskies

An offensive lineman named Klemm is always a good thing. On Wednesday, the Huskies landed a commitment from former Kansas State offensive lineman Jalen Klemm, who entered his name in the transfer portal after just one year as a Wildcat.

Klemm redshirted during his freshman year on campus and didn't see action in any of Kansas State's 14 games. The former high school All-American from Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, was the highest-rated member of the Wildcats' 2022 recruiting class, ranked as a four-star tackle by 247 Sports.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 273 pounds, Klemm still has some work to do in terms of putting on weight before he's ready for consistent playing time at the college level. Even though he might not be ready for that just yet, there are few offensive linemen in the country who are in a better position to prepare for his opportunity.

Jalen's father is New England Patriots offensive-line coach Adrian Klemm, who has had a long, successful career playing and coaching the position. Adrian was a second-round pick out of the University of Hawaii in 2000 by the New England Patriots and played four seasons with them before spending his final year with the Green Bay Packers in 2005.

Adrian returned to the NFL in 2023 after coaching the Oregon offensive line to be arguably the best unit in the country in 2022. While Jalen was listed as a tackle on the Kansas State roster, he's probably going to see snaps at both tackle and guard when he officially arrives on campus.

Klemm could end up kicking out to tackle full time in 2024, depending on what both Roger Rosengarten and Troy Fautanu decide about their NFL futures. Scott Huff has a history of developing offensive linemen and has an opportunity to help turn him into a solid piece for the Huskies.

Still, the addition of Klemm was mildly surprising after UW coach Kalen DeBoer previously said he and his staff prefer to develop offensive linemen rather to seek them out in the portal.

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Roman Tomashoff
ROMAN TOMASHOFF

I've followed the Huskies for my entire life, and to be in a position where I get to cover them full-time is nothing short of an honor. After graduating from Lasell University in 2019, I moved to Seattle to pursue my dream of working in sports media. While writing for the Husky Haul, I also covered local sports for the Everett Daily Herald before the COVID-19 pandemic. After being hired by Realdawg.com in February of 2021, I also transitioned into doing a lot of entertainment writing, as I work on a variety of magazines as a contributing writer for Centennial Media, and have also contributed to Emmy Magazine, as well as Walt Disney Television Studios. 

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