The Washington football program as a whole got some great news this week, when offensive tackle Jaxson Kirkland received word that his waiver to come back to the university for a sixth year had been granted. In a very well-coordinated announcement from both Kalen DeBoer and the official Washington football Twitter account, the university helped Kirkland put together a video announcement that surely excited the Husky faithful.

Going into the 2021 season, Kirkland had been receiving a ton of buzz from the NFL, and some media scouts seemed to think that he had an opportunity to be a first-round pick. As the 2021 Husky season began to play out, Kirkland missed a few games due to an ankle injury, which plagued him for the rest of the season. He had surgery in the offseason to correct the issue, and ended up deciding to withdraw his name from the draft.

He hung around with the team for the entirety of spring practice, even though he wasn’t able to participate. The NCAA seemed to drag their feet on this for as long as they possibly could, but in the end this is a huge win for the Huskies. Now the question is, will he still play left tackle?

Troy Fautanu improved in leaps and bounds this spring at the position, and although he’s proven that he’s very versatile and can play multiple positions, he seemed to fit best at left tackle. With Kirkland’s return, that could kick Matteo Mele, who took a lot of snaps with the first team at right tackle, inside to center, where he’s started once, and has appeared in 16 total games during his career. Slotting Kirkland in at right tackle would change some of his footwork, but might end up being a better fit in the offense, since there’s a higher probability that a left-handed quarterback will win the starting job.