Inside The Huskies

UW's Right Guard Takes Left Turn: Buelow, Older Hatchett Enter Portal

The two veteran linemen add to the Huskies' list of roster departures.

Dan Raley

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And then there were none.

On Wednesday, starting offensive guard Julius Buelow reportedly entered the transfer portal, which if true, leaves the University of Washington football team with no offensive starters returning

It that wasn't noteworthy enough, Buelow's back-up at right guard for the national title game against Michigan, Geirean Hatchett, divulged that he, too, will be testing portal possibilities.

The two linemen were among four UW players who on Wednesday reportedly entered the portal, with touted freshman safety Vincent Holmes and walk-on quarterback Alex Johnson going the same route, according to recruiting websites or the players themselves.

These were the first roster departures following Tuesday's introductory news conference welcoming Jedd Fisch as the Husky coach and as Kalen DeBoer's replacement. 

The 6-foot-9, 313-pound Buelow, who will be a sixth-year senior and hails from Kapolei, Hawaii, started eight of the Huskies' 15 games this past season, working around a leg injury suffered at Michigan State that sidelined him for two contests.

He seemed to restore his UW career this past season after starting five games in 2021 and being replaced, and then serving only as a back-up for the entire 2022 season. 

As the above video shows, Buelow was an exultant Husky football player leaving the stadium following the Sugar Bowl and CFP semifinals victory over Texas in New Orleans.

The 6-foot-4, 303-pound Hatchett, who will be a junior, drew five starts in place of Buelow before giving way to his teammate and then getting injured himself.

The former 4-star recruit from Ferndale, Washington,  played in 12 of the 15 games this past season and all 13 the year before in a reserve role, even appearing as a blocking tight end at times.

On Tuesday, Fisch, in sizing up his new job, said there were 17 Huskies currently in the transfer portal at that time, along with 9-10 players who intend to enter the NFL draft.

These players, of course, can return to the UW if that's what they want in the end and the new staff welcomes them back.

Parker Brailsford and Geirean Hatchett enter the field at the CFP title game.
Parker Brailsford and Geirean Hatchett take the field for the CFP title game / Skylar Lin Visuals

The starting Husky offensive line consisted of all underclassmen when the season ended, but tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten, a junior and a sophomore, declared for the NFL draft, and redshirt freshman center Parker Brailsford, senior offensive guard and Buelow, plus Hatchett, are in the transfer portal.

At this point the only returning starters for the Huskies are linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala and cornerback Elijah Jackson.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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