Veteran offensive guard Nate Kalepo, who was the eighth player or coach from the University of Washington to commit to the opportunistic SEC in the last two and a half weeks, has committed to Mississippi. The SEC is still sorting through the remains of the national runner-up football team to see what it needs.
Naturally, the remaining seven, which include wide receiver Germie Bernard, center Parker Brailsford, quarterback Austin Mack, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, offensive line coach Scott Huff, and receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard, are all employed by Alabama.
The 6-foot-6, 327-pound Kalepo from Renton, Washington, made history on Thursday by becoming the second Husky offensive lineman in two years to play for coach Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. The other was former teammate Victor Curne, who started at tackle for the Rebels in his final college football season this past fall.
It’s likely that Kalepo wanted to finish his college career with a major change or simply a bit more publicity to promote himself as a professional football player.
He had to laboriously go through Huff’s development procedure and make his way up the ranks throughout his five seasons in Montlake. Including all 15 games played in the previous season, he made 42 appearances and .
This past season, Kalepo showed to be a formidable opponent, pulling out and taking opponents off their feet. He was the heaviest of the five players who comprised the UW offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award, making it the finest in the country.
He was an effective pocket protector, giving allowed just one sack in 572 pass-block snaps during the previous season, according to Pro Football Focus.
He can also be the most naughty. After the Oregon Ducks beat the Pac-12 in the title game, offensive tackle Troy Fautanu was performing an on-the-spot on-field interview. Kalepo saw this and came over to add a profanity-filled commentary about his teammate. The video needed a serious edit to make it look better.
Given that all five of his starting offensive linemates have left the Huskies early in their careers, Kalepo probably didn’t feel particularly committed to returning for another season at UW.
Defenders Roger Rosengarten and Fautanu made their NFL draft announcements, while Brailsford pledged to Alabama. Julius Buelow, another offensive guard, also registered on the transfer portal and was rumored to be considering a visit to Ole Miss.
Despite not winning any all-league awards upon leaving the University of Washington, Kalepo showed himself to be a desirable asset in the open market, attracting interest from schools such as Miami and Ohio State.
