An unheralded Husky is starting to emerge in UW’s offense

Keleki Latus most impactful moment likely came without the ball.

With 8:16 remaining in the first half of UW's eventual win over USC, Washington called a run for junior Jonah Coleman.

Lined up on the left side of UWs offensive line, Latu engaged USC defensive end Sam Greene, a 6-foot-1, 255-pound redshirt freshman edge rusher.

Latu first drove Greene back a few yards, allowing wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter, lined up outside Latu, to run through the hole and engage a USC defender on the second level.

But as Coleman approached with the ball, the gap began to close.

So Latu wrestled Greene to the right, closing the hole but setting the edge for Coleman, who cut to his left and was free to waltz into the end zone untouched.

Kelekis continuing to improve, UW coach Jedd Fisch said.

I wish we had him for more than one year.

Latu has been one of the surprises of the season for Washington since stepping up after sixth-year tight end Quentin Moores injury in the season-opening win.

Against USC, he hauled in all three of his targets for 41 yards.

The 6-foot-7, 244-pound tight end has done a little bit of everything for Fisch and the Huskies (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten).

He entered Saturday with 28 catches, ranking third on the team, for 265 yards.

Latu was averaging 9.46 yards per catch and 33.13 yards per game.

After starting the year mainly as a check-down option, Latu has been asked to do more in recent weeks.

He made a seasonlong 36-yard reception late against No.

13 Indiana, and had at least four catches in four of his past five games entering Saturday.

Pro Football Focus considers Latu to be UWs fourth best player on offense, with a 77.7 offensive grade.

Latu trails only junior running back Jonah Coleman, sophomore receiver Denzel Boston and Moore, who played only two quarters of the first game.

Latu arrived at UW with a reputation as a pass-catching tight end, but hes improved as a blocker, too.

While he only has a 63.4 pass-blocking grade, PFF gave him a 74.1 run-blocking grade the best on the team among players with more than 30 snaps played.

Fisch said Latu was envisioned as being the pass-catching tight end when they recruited him to complement Moore as the primary blocking tight end.

Moores absence has required Latu to fill in for him, allowing freshman Decker DeGraaf to serve as the teams pass-catching threat.

The UW coach also praised Latus work ethic, effort and desire to improve.

Fisch lamented not being able to get Latu on campus until after spring practices, and said Latu takes real pride in his blocking abilities.

Each week, hes continuing to improve, Fisch said after beating the Trojans (4-5, 2-5).

Yet Latu said he feels hes made the most improvements to his game making plays after the catch.

When I have the ball, I feel like I can be more explosive in those areas, he said.

Latu, who spent two seasons at California and played six games at Nevada before suffering a season-ending injury, said he chose UW because of how he saw Fisch utilize tight ends like Tanner McLachlan at Arizona.

He also wanted the chance to work with position coach Jordan Paopao, who helped guide players like Drew Sample, Will Dissly, Cade Otton, Joshua Perkins, Darrell Daniels, Hunter Bryant and Austin Seferian-Jenkins to the NFL.

Making it to the NFL would be particularly meaningful to Latu because it would be a chance to line up with or against his brother, former UW edge rusher and 2023 first-round draft pick Laiatu Latu, again.

Its my next goal to play with or against my brother would be a dream of mine, for sure, Keleki Latu said.

While Latu hopes to make enough impact to intrigue teams at the next level, hes still focused on this season with the Huskies.

The Northern Californian said the team has to focus on not overthinking each play, especially in the red zone.

Latu said he hopes to lead Washington into a bowl game, too.

Its something he still hasnt had a chance to experience during his college career, but more importantly, Latu said he wants a chance to spend as much time with this team as possible.

It would mean a lot.

...

to be able to have that relationship with my teammates, he said, just to have them in my life, to spend more time with these guys during my last year..

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