Freshman offensive linemen impressing during UW Huskies fall camp
Jaxson Kirkland said they were light years ahead of where he was a freshman. Luke Wattenberg chose miles. Either way, Washington’s two most experienced offensive linemen had high praise for the newest group of Huskies.
UW brought in five offensive linemen in the Class of 2020: Four-stars Myles Murao, Roger Rosengarten and Geirean Hatchett and three-stars Gaard Memmelaar and Samuel Peacock.
Even without the benefit of spring practice, the freshman linemen have been impressing coaches and teammates alike during the first week of fall camp.
“I like all those guys,” said offensive line coach Scott Huff. “They’re all at different stages. Some of them are physically farther advanced. Others came from really good high school programs and are more advanced mentally because of the different schools they came from, the different places.”
The group even caught the attention of head coach Jimmy Lake, who highlighted the newcomers after the first day of camp last week.
“They jell together,” Lake said. ‘It’s been fun watching Huff get after those guys a little bit. You can tell they love it.”
UW lost three starting offensive linemen from last season. That’s meant some position changes for the veterans as Wattenberg moved to center and Kirkland shifted to left tackle.
But the group makes up in-depth what it lacks in experience. When Huff outlined the top 10 players currently — Kirkland, Wattenberg, Henry Bainivalu, Ulumoo Ale, Victor Curne, Troy Fautanu, Matteo Mele, Nate Kalepo, Corey Luciano and Julius Buelow — there were no true freshmen on the list.
But that doesn’t mean they can’t get there — and it certainly doesn’t mean they haven’t made an impression.
“You take Luke and Jaxson out of it, it’s a really young group,” Huff said. “There’s good days and there’s bad days. The encouraging thing is when they make mistakes, they’re quick learners and they are picking up from it.
“I say this all the time, but it really is a work in progress. We are trying to move guys around and figure out who’s where and who fits what. They’re young, but I like the progress that we’re making.”
Huff gave UW’s more experienced offensive linemen credit for preparing their younger teammates during an off-season that was uprooted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They’ve been doing a great job,” Kirkland said. “It’s been such a unique year from when they got in. We had walk-throughs during that period, assuming we would start in August and then we had that delay. We’ve still been able to meet and talk with them. … I’m impressed with them a lot, to be honest with you. I think their development is way more than most freshmen we’ve had coming in.”
Asked for players who have made the strongest impression, Wattenberg pointed to Rosengarten. Wattenberg compared him to former UW All-American left tackle Trey Adams, and Rosengarten has spent time practicing at the same position.
“He just moves really well,” Wattenberg said. “He’s nasty, just like Trey was. He’s big and strong and he takes great sets. He’s doing really well all-around.”
Peacock, who starred at Gig Harbor and was The News Tribune’s 2020 Male Athlete of the Year, has drawn Huff’s attention.
“Man, he gets better every day,” Huff said, “and you can just see his athleticism.”
Murao, who has been working at center, was the highest-ranked offensive lineman by 247Sports in the Class of 2020. Asked about him, Huff reminisced on watching him play for Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) against St. John Bosco last season.
“I just say this about Myles, the moment was never too big for him,” Huff said. “He just fit on the stage. He looked like a gladiator walking out there, ready to go. He was ready to go compete.”
While it might be difficult for the true freshman to earn meaningful time on the field in 2020, it’s quickly become clear to Huff that the future is bright.
“They’ve shown they’ve got the right mentality,” Huff said. “Figuring out the football side of things, learning the playbook. They’ve got great leadership from the couple older guys we do have. I’m excited about watching those guys grow.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Freshman offensive linemen impressing during UW Huskies fall camp."
