Husky Roster Review: Henning On Fast Track for Playing Time

The Colorado product became the emergency center this spring.

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

Growing up in the bustling Denver suburbs, Zach Henning and Roger Rosengarten were separated by 10 miles as they made themselves into dedicated high school offensive linemen and desirable college football recruits.

Once at the University of Washington, they became teammates three years apart, a starter and an apprentice, separated in size by an inch and about 10 pounds.

While Rosengarten used his time wisely with the Huskies to become a second-round pick for the Baltimore Ravens and the 62nd player selected in the recent NFL draft, the 6-foot-5, 292-pound Henning is just getting going in Montlake, carrying on a welcome tradition.

"We like to call ourselves the Colorado boys," Henning said.

Rosengarten played four seasons for the UW and started the last two at right offensive tackle uninterrupted, 28 games in all.

Henning comes off his freshman year in which he appeared in two outings but now has a chance to play a lot of football forJedd Fisch's new coaching staff -- in fact, almost anywhere up front -- and become a starter well in advance of when Rosengarten did.

Zach Henning (58) got some spring work in at guard and center for the Huskies. / Skylar Lin Visuals

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did this past spring and what to expect from them going forward.

After spending his first UW season at offensive guard, Henning moved to center for spring practice out of necessity because projected starter Landen Hatchett was held out of contact drills while still recovering from a knee injury.

As a result, this creates an interesting dilemma for Henning and Hatchett -- the Huskies' H boys -- who are practically interchangeable at center and guard.

Did Henning feel like he was a place-holder at center for his teammate or did he want to win this job and make Hatchett move to guard?

"I'm just trying to get better like every day, whether it be at guard or center, mostly center right now, and whenever I go to guard, just kind of get better," Henning said. " When he comes back, we'll just see what happens. Obviously, we're really good friends. We talk about it, We knows what's going on. It's just the way it is. He knows it."

Sounds like he's a guard. He's for sure a Colorado guy, now the last one left on the UW roster, no less a player with promise.

Zach Henning takes the field at USC last season. / David Sizer

ZACH HENNING FILE

What he's done: Henning played against just Michigan State and California last season, and preserved his redshirt. He lined up with the No. 2 offense in practice along with Hatchett when he was healthy, while their three other line classmates in Soane Faasolo, Elishah Jackett and Kahlee Tafai were largely third-teamers who didn't get into any games.

Starter or not: Henning appears on the fast track to game time, if not starting at offensive guard. He came physically ready to play as a freshman. Again, he's probably a starting guard candidate and a back-up center if needed.

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