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Fourth Offensive Lineman Leaves Oklahoma via Transfer Portal

Geirean Hatchett, who transferred to OU from Washington last year, struggled in the season opener before needing surgery to repair a torn biceps muscle.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett
Oklahoma offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett / John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI
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Another Oklahoma offensive lineman has entered the transfer portal.

Geirean Hatchett, who transferred from Washington to OU last January, has reportedly re-entered the portal, it was reported Monday.

Hatchett was primarily a backup for the national champion runner-up Huskies in 2023, but arrived at OU during a time of need — offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh went into the offseason needing to replace all five starters up front.

Hatchett was immediately in the mix for playing time last spring. But he suffered a torn biceps injury in preseason training camp.

Hatchett endeared himself to Sooner Nation when he tried to play injured in the season opener against Temple. But he played just 52 snaps in the opener and, unable to move his arm, struggled to be an effective blocker.

He was scheduled to start in the Sooners’ second game against Houston and went through pregame warmups prior to kickoff, but couldn’t go. Hatchett had surgery and was lost for the remainder of the season. 

The 6-foot-5, 318-pound Hatchett, a fifth-year senioir from Ferndale, WA, still has a season of eligibility remaining, but should be able to petition for a medical redshirt.

In 2023, Hatchett played the first eight games, including starts against California, Arizona, Oregon and Arizona State, before an ankle injury sidelined him for three games. He returned for the Apple Cup against Washington State as well as the three postseason games against Oregon, Texas and Michigan.

When starting center and SMU transfer Branson Hickman left the Week 1 win over Temple with an injury, Hatchett — who was listed as the backup right guard on the initial depth chart — moved to center. The right-handed Hatchett was already battling his left arm injury then, while taking over snapping duties.

“I practice snapping every single day, so I'm pretty used to the snapping aspect of center," Hatchett said after the Temple game. "Definitely caught me off guard. No one's expecting anybody to go down that early like it happened. But I was able to adjust and the only thing I felt like I needed to get under control were my snaps — I had a couple of bad snaps — but then after that felt fine, felt natural being back at center."

Hatchett is the fourth OU offensive lineman to leave the team via portal, joining center Joshua Bates and preferred walk-ons Ty Kubicek and Evan McClure. So far, 12 Sooners have departed in the winter portal window.

This year's NCAA Transfer Portal opened officially opened on Monday. To be eligible to play right away in 2025, players must enter their name into the transfer portal before Dec. 28. The spring portal window runs from April 16-25, 2025.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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