By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Neel Salukhe started his route, while Jeff Lindquist dropped back to pass. As the receiver sprinted down the field, the quarterback fired the football.
The balled zipped toward Salukhe. It was “super hard to catch, super fast.” On this particular play, the receiver couldn't secure the reception.
“I'm sorry,” Salukhe said. “I'm going to catch the next one.”
Lindquist looked at the receiver, smiled and said, “Don't worry about it. You will get the next one.”
For a first-year walk-on, Lindquist's encouragement helped validate Salukhe's decision to join Washington's football team.
“His encouragement was huge,” Salukhe said.
But it didn't stop there.
Each time running back Deontae Cooper passed the receiver, he said hello. Michael Kneip, a walk-on offensive lineman, also helped Salukhe make the transition to Division I football.
“I met some great people who really brought me along, even though I was just a walk-on and definitely not as skilled as some of the other guys,” Salukhe said. “Being on this team has allowed me to bond with all these people and grow and improve my football skill. It's been a lot of fun for the three years I've been here. I can't complain with the way anything has gone.”
Now, after three seasons with Washington, Salukhe is enjoying the final days of his college career as he prepares to transition from the football field to a microbiology lab.
“I don't want it to stop,” Salukhe said. “I still have that passion I had coming out of high school to keep playing, so it is definitely weird to be so close to the end. I've given everything I have every day, so I really have no regrets with the way things have gone.”
For as long as Salukhe can remember, football and science have been a pivotal part of his life. Growing up in San Jose, Calif., he started to play football in third grade. When he was in high school, he earned a biology internship at Stanford.
After a successful high-school career at The Harker School, Salukhe wanted to attend a university that would allow him to pursue both passions.
“I just didn't want to stop,” he said. “I knew wherever I went to school I was going to try an walk on. I just really enjoyed being on a team and playing.”
Over the course of three seasons, Salukhe has played in two games. In the second game of his college career against Idaho State, he went in late.
“It was a thrilling feeling,” he said. “It was incredible.”
He also played against Sacramento State this season, earning an award special to Washington's receivers. The Huskies call them “bones,” given for delivering a successful downfield block.
“It's good to know the work pays off,” he said.
But, with one home game left – Washington plays Washington State in the Apple Cup at 12:30 p.m. Friday – Salukhe's college career is coming to a close.
“I'll have to move on at some point, and I think I'm doing that with what I'm doing in my academic life,” he said.
During his sophomore year at Washington, Salukhe started reaching out to professors at Washington.
“I emailed a lot of professors and got bites from a few of them to work under them,” he said.
Then he met Dr. Houra Merrikh. He has worked with her the past two years and will continue working in her lab after he graduates.
So, what is he researching?
“I work with DNA replication and transcription and the conflicts that occur between the two machineries when they are happening at the same time,” said Salukhe, who works with an organism called bacillus subtilis.
While his football career is nearing the end, Salukhe's competitive drive helps him in the microbiology lab.
“Discovering something is really interesting,” he said. “When you're the only person in the world who knows something, that's kind of what drives me, so that's what we're working with right now. We're trying to put out papers and be the first to figure something out.”
Once he graduates, he plans to spend a year working with Dr. Merrikh. Then he plans to attend graduate school. Depending on what he decides to focus on, he may pursue a PhD.
“In the future I would definitely like to work with drugs and try and find drugs that would cure certain diseases,” Salukhe said.
This week, though, the focus is on football.
“I just love playing football, and with these teammates, it's really easy to keep going,” Salukhe said. “My teammates and coaches, they push me to be the best I can be every day. Being able to go out there and practice, and say I played Division I football, that's something a lot of people would love to have the opportunity to do.
“It's still just an amazing feeling to be able to do that.”
Football has helped prepare the receiver for his future. It has provided memories that will last a lifetime.
“It hasn't been easy,” he said. “It takes a lot of work, but coming out of high school, that's what I set out to do. To be able to accomplish that, it's something no one can take away from me.”
