Huskies Looking for Player with Right Stuff at Right Guard

Zach Henning, Geirean Hatchett and Champ Taulealea are in a fairly spirited competition to see who emerges as the starter.

Champ Taulealea, middle, takes a water break. / Dan Raley

Even when times have been good for the University of Washington football team, starting right guard has been a position of continual transition for the Huskies.

On the way to the CFP national championship game against Michigan two years ago, Parker Brailsford, Julius Buelow and Geirean Hatchett each pulled game-opening assignments in this role -- 2, 9 and 4, respectively.

Last season, three more Huskies in Enokk Vimahi, Landen Hatchett and D'Angalo Titialli pulled starts at right guard, 8, 4 and 1, in that order.

Now three practices into spring ball, sophomore Zach Henning, senior Geirean Hatchett and freshman Champ Taulealea are in a fairly involved competition at right guard to become the first-teamer against Colorado State in the August 30 season opener at Husky Stadium.

That's nine players in three seasons who have merited starting consideration at right guard for the Huskies.

This past Saturday, the 6-foot-5, 330-pound Taulealea drew his first opportunity to run with the No. 1 Husky offense for much of the 150-minute workout, this after Henning held the lead role during the first practice on Tuesday and Hatchett took his turn in Thursday's practice.

At this point, anything goes with these guys.

RIGHT GUARD ROULETTE
ZACH HENNING	GEIREAN HATCHETT	CHAMP TAULEALEA
Sophomore	Senior	Freshman
Centennial, Colorado	Ferndale, Washington	Milpitas, California
6-foot-5, 310 pounds	6-foot-4, 306 pounds	6-foot-5, 330 pounds
15 games, 1 start (TE)	27 games, 5 starts (1 at Okla.)	No playing history

Henning not only drew the initial spring snaps at first-team right guard, he rotated back into the spot during Saturday's practice after Taulealea had pulled the majority of plays. He's not going away at this position.

The Colorado native have been so versatile he continues to take turns at center and last season he started as a blocking tight end against Eastern Michigan when No. 1 tight end Quentin Moore went down with a season-ending knee injury in the opener.

Zach Henning spent the 2024 spring at starting center out of UW need. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Back for a second stint at the UW following an abbreviated and injury-filled season at Oklahoma, Hatchett is more battled-tested at this position and in multiple roles than the others as a sixth-year senior.

Interesting enough, Hatchett started one game at left guard and was an emergency fill-in at center for the Sooners but didn't play right guard for the SEC team before he suffered a season-ending biceps injury.

In 2022, he also regularly pulled tight-end snaps when the Huskies were hit by earlier injuries at that position.

Now comes Taulealea, who's heavier than his Husky right-guard peers by 20 pounds or more and needs no year in the weight room to reshape his body before he plays. He was a 4-star recruit emerging from high school, same as Geirean Hatchett.

Taulealea comes to the UW with such high regard as a football player that no one would be surprised at all if he beats out his older teammates and doesn't give the starting position back once he really gets his hands on it.

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