SEATTLE — Senior Kelemete was so sure he wouldn’t be starting Washington’s season opener that he didn’t bother checking a depth chart Monday morning.
Then his phone rang.
An aunt and uncle were calling to congratulate their nephew, only the freshman from Seattle’s Evergreen High School wasn’t sure why.
“I was like, ‘Congratulations on what?’” he recalled. “They said, ‘You didn’t look at the depth chart yet? You’re starting.’”
Kelemete was as surprised as anyone else to find out he was named a starter.
“In my mind, I was thinking about being second or third string, backing up one of the upperclassmen, and when I saw that, I was shocked,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d be starting.”
Kelemete, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive tackle, is a surprise starter not only because of his youth, but also because he was a late addition to the team. Because of an NCAA Clearinghouse error, he was declared academically ineligible when the Huskies opened fall camp. He joined the team just two weeks ago having missed the first eight days of camp.
“I was really worried about that,” he said. “I thought I’d be really behind because everybody had an extra week ahead of me. I was really far behind. I didn’t think I was going to catch up this fast.”
Washington coaches have praised Kelemete’s physical abilities and his work ethic since he joined the team, and in a short time he managed to climb to the top of the depth chart.
“He’s just come in and had a heck of a, I don’t know, 10 days now,” said defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. “He was a little bit behind getting in here, but I’m very pleased with this guy. He brings an unusual quality of power and strength to our defense, and this guy should be a read good Husky for a long time.”
Dealing with the Ducks: Washington’s ability to handle Oregon’s spread offense will go a long ways towards determining how the Huskies will fare in Eugene. Donatell, who will make his debut as the Huskies’ defensive coordinator Saturday, says his team needs to focus on the basics.
“It’s fundamentals,” he said. “When you look up and say that we won the game, you’ll say they tackled well. You’ll say this team tackled well, you’ll say this team leveraged well. Those two things will come up, they’re the key ingredients to our intentions of getting the job done.”
Donatell got a lot of laughs from reporter when asked about what his defense will do against Oregon.
“We’re playing with one vanilla look the whole game,” he deadpanned, obviously unwilling to give anything away.
Gottlieb may not play: Senior tight end Michael Gottlieb, who has battled a hamstring injury for much of camp, may not be ready for the Huskies’ season opener.
“Michael is probably more in question right now that he was even yesterday,” Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said. “It may be unfortunate that he may not be able to make it as we get to the end of the week.”
In other injury news, reserve tackle Mark Armelin will be out for a while with a fracture in his right foot. Willingham said that one to two weeks would be a best-case scenario for Armelin’s return.
Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on University of Washington sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog
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