Washington transfer OL Nate Kalepo commits to Ole Miss

Former Washington offensive lineman Nate Kalepo has committed to Ole Miss out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Kalepo spent five seasons with the Huskies, making 40 appearances and 18 starts. Kalepo started all 15 games in the 2023 campaign. He started at right guard at Michigan State, and at left guard in all other contests.

The Washington native was named the UW coaches’ offensive power player of the week following the win over Utah. Kalepo was a pivotal piece to Washington’s front five, which won the Joe Moore Award this season, an honor annually presented to the best offensive line in college football.

Washington’s offensive line only allowed 12 sacks in 15 games this season, the fifth-least in the country. It isn’t a coincidence the Huskies averaged the second-most passing yards in the nation this year.

Nate Kalepo played high school football at Rainier Beach (WA), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 376 overall recruit in the 2019 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Kalepo is one of many Washington players who entered their name into the transfer portal after head coach Kalen DeBoer left his position to become Nick Saban’s successor at Alabama.

More on Ole Miss’ success in the transfer portal

Kalepo is the 14th player Ole Miss has added in the transfer portal. With Kalepo included, the Rebels’ incoming transfer class includes five four-star prospects and one five-star recruit. Ole Miss currently boasts the No. 3 incoming transfer class in the country, according to On3’s Transfer Portal Team Rankings.

On the Thursday evening edition of Andy Staples On3, OMSpirit’s Zach Berry discussed the Rebels success in the transfer portal.

“There were times, the story for this season was, it was kind of a come to Jesus moment for Kiffin at Ole Miss, when they played Georgia,” Berry said. “It was not close. It was a blowout. It was a disaster. And just Kiffin talking about how physical Georgia was and how Ole Miss was just not physical. They couldn’t hold up. They weren’t deep enough.

“The portal, it’s been Kiffin’s way of bridging that gap between the tier 1 SEC, the tier 1 national programs, to make not only Ole Miss relevant in a dark horse playoff team. To where now I think there is no dark horse anymore. They are a legit threat to the College Football Playoff.”

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.