Hatchett Has 2 Jobs, Just Not a UW Starting Role Just Yet

Yet Jedd Fisch isn't shy about calling this player his No. 1 center of the future.

Landen Hatchett takes a turn at center for the Huskies. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Most college football players coming off a December knee injury would be making their season debut on Saturday against Northwestern, if not later in the schedule. On nothing short of an overly determined pace, Landen Hatchett is preparing for his fourth game since having surgery.

The 6-foot-2, 310-pound sophomore from Ferndale, Washington, comes off the bench and alternates taking game snaps at left offensive guard and center while he returns to optimum condition. The Huskies, under two coaching staffs, always have had grand plans for him.

"Some day I see Landen as our starting center," UW coach Jedd Fisch said this week.

He suggested Hatchett's ascension to the No. 1 role likely will take place in 2025. What he didn't say is no one should be surprised if that promotion comes earlier for the sturdy, long-haired lineman emerge in one of these upcoming games, including the Huskies' first ever foray as a Big Ten member on Saturday.

Hatchett's rapid progression to good health is one reason a starting opportunity can't be far off. Another is D'Angalo Titialii, the Portland State transfer, the Huskies' starting center for the first three games and Hatchett's designated fill-in, didn't have his best outing in the Apple Cup.

Titialli botched a shotgun snap that quarterback Will Rogers had to fall on for a loss and twice drew penalties for false starts in the 24-19 loss to Washington State at Lumen Field. It's unclear if these game missteps will count against him moving forward. Either way, some sort of job share likely will persist.

"We try not to get him to play every snap," Fisch said of Titialii. "I think there's a lot of value to get Landen some more reps. I think together they'll work kind of in combination."

After playing in nine games as a true freshman, Hatchett damaged his knee in a Montlake practice while preparing for the Sugar Bowl and CFP semifinal game against Texas. He turned up in New Orleans on crutches, wearing a thick brace on his right leg and showing off a scar running vertically across the top of his kneecap.

Landen Hatchett attended the Sugar Bowl on crutches after suffering a knee injury and having surgery. / Skylar Lin Visuals

As the Husky coaching staff changed over from Kalen DeBoer to Fisch, Hatchett threw himself into his rehabilitation. He made a lot of weight room gains, building back leg strength and flexibility. He was held out of contact drills during spring football but medically cleared midway through fall camp. He's earned increasing playing time through those three non-conference games.

The 6-foot-2, 320-pound Titialii, who started 28 of 32 games for his Big Sky team -- which included opening against the Huskies in 2022 -- was brought in to manage things up front while Hatchett worked his way back.

For now, Fisch says his staff prefers to use Hatchett to spell junior offensive guard Gaard Memmelaar, similarly coming off his own knee injury, though suffered a year ago in August, and at center with Titialii, who's a local guy from Auburn, Washington, living out a Husky dream and best described as a loyal soldier.

While limited in spring ball, Landen Hatchett got in some snaps. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Yet there could come a time when it no longer makes sense to keep Hatchett out of the opening lineup, no matter how well Titialii is playing. The coaching staff always says it wants the best players on the field is destined to be one of the Huskies' top two offensive linemen, if not the best one someday.

"I think Landen has a great role of playing center and guard," Fisch said, "and in continuing to evolve the healthier and more consistent he is."

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