For almost six months Washington offensive line coach Scott Huff was left only to ponder what his unit would look like up front heading into the 2019 season.
Over the course of the 15 practices the football team held in April, Huff used an assortment of combinations along the OL. It was meant in part to build confidence in some of the younger linemen, namely redshirt freshmen Matteo Mele, Victor Curne and M.J. Ale.
The various parings also gave Huff a better sense of the depth along the OL heading into fall camp.
“I think we have 13 guys that are all some version of freshmen. They’re either redshirt freshmen this past season, or they were in high school,” Huff noted after the Huskies eight practice on April 15.
“It’s been pretty fun to watch those guys compete. We’re kind of at that point where you normally start seeing the guys really start taking the next step.”
UW enrolled three linemen early from the 2019 recruiting class; four-star offensive tackle Julius Buelow, listed at 6-8 and 341-pounds from Kapolei, Hawaii; three-star tackle Troy Fautanu, a 6-4, 296-pounder from Henderson, Nevada; and Corey Luciano, a junior college addition who played solely at center during the spring.
Nate Kalepo, the fourth OL signed by the Huskies this past February, didn’t participate in spring practices but is expected to be enrolled for the L.E.A.P. program in June. Huff noted the early academic success of both freshmen linemen during the winter quarter.
“It’s been great. He did an awesome job in school,” Huff said, when asked about Buelow’s development. “Him and Troy both. Julius I think had the highest GPA on the team last quarter.
“But, the football stuff, I mean they’re trying to figure out the speed of the game. Completely different. I think Julius had like three plays on offense, different plays at his high school, and we got three potential plays we can run on one play at the line of scrimmage.
“So there’s a lot going on for him but it’s great. He’s got a great attitude and really excited for him.”
In an ideal world, though, Huff will only manage the aforementioned players’ growth over the next 12 to 24 months and not look to rely upon them week to week.
That’s due mainly to UW returning all but one starter from last season, Kaleb McGary, a four-year starter who was selected No. 29 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. UW does return fifth-year senior left tackle Trey Adams, who anchors a sneaky experience unit.
Adams missed the first 10 games last season to recover from two surgeries, including a torn ACL suffered against Arizona State in 2017, but started both the Pac-12 Championship Game and Rose Bowl at LT.
The fifth-year senior has made 32 career starts, the most of any returning linemen for UW followed by Nick Harris who has 30 combined starts over the last three seasons. Harris, a true senior, started two games at left guard and two at right guard in 2016.
He started 13 games the following season all at RG before moving inside to center for the 2018 season, where he started every game but one (vs North Dakota State).
For most of the spring UW showed a consistent starting OL unit of: Adams, Luke Wattenberg, Harris, Jaxson Kirkland and Jared Hilbers from left to right.
Wattenberg, a redshirt sophomore and former four-star prospect from San Juan Capistrano High School in California, has started 19 career games all at LG. Kirkland started all 14 games for the Huskies last season at RG, with Hilbers being one of two versatile senior linemen along with Henry Roberts.
Both Hilbers and Roberts have appeared in at least 15 games over their careers at UW. Hilbers started in place of Adams against Auburn in the season opener at LT and enters 2019 with 11 career starts.
Behind the starters a handful of players showed consistently well throughout the spring. Huff highlighted redshirt sophomore Cole Norgaard as one who has started to emerge.
“He’s got a ton of reps. I think he’s taking the next step in terms of being, what we call our field general out there running the show,” Huff said of Norgaard. “We’re still working on a lot of stuff, just like all the guys with physical things and techniques. He’s done a nice job so far and I’m excited to see how he finishes out.”
Norgaard took several series with the first-team offense with Harris taking limited reps this spring, another sign of Huff instilling confidence in his younger players.
In addition, two former Evergreen State prospects have continued to develop as Huff expected, Ale and Bainivalu.
Ale, a three-star guard from Fife, Wash., and Bainivalu, a four-star tackle out of Skyline High School in Sammamish, Wash., both pass the eye test immediately. In stature and when it comes time to put the pads on.
“Well, depending on how many cheeseburgers Biney had this last weekend, M.J. is right around 360 and Biney can be anywhere between 310 and 330, depending on what he did the night before,” Huff joked with a smile, before adding a reason for optimism.
“Both those guys are big dudes that can move. Pretty excited.”
