Landen Hatchett Plays His Way Into Washington's OL Rotation
After Kalen DeBoer announced on Tuesday that offensive lineman Gaard Memmelaar would have to miss the 2023 season because of an injury, Washington's starting five along the offensive line appeared set.
On Thursday, Ryan Grubb reaffirmed that the coaching staff feels very good about the group that will trot out to start the 2023 season, from left to right: Troy Fautanu, Julius Buelow, Matteo Mele, Nate Kalepo and Roger Rosengarten. However, the offensive coordinator went on to say there's going to be a rotation of "seven or eight" players up front, mainly on the interior of the line.
He listed Parker Brailsford, Geirean Hatchett and true freshman Landen Hatchett as the others who have worked their way into the rotation up front. Brailsford has asserted himself as the second-team center and also taken some reps with the first team at both guard spots, while the older Hatchett has been in the program for a few years and has been used at tackle, guard, and center.
The younger Hatchett enrolled at Washington in the spring and has clearly impressed the coaching staff since true freshmen who play on the offensive line rarely see the field in their first year. Grubb said the former four-star recruit has a rare combination of power and athleticism for his age.
"He can transition well in the run game and he's not going to get beat in the pass game one-on-one a bunch of times," the coach said following Thursday's practice. "He's got the physical tools, he's smart, so he'll always have a chance [to play]."
Hatchett, who was listed as a center prospect coming out of Ferndale High School, has taken a lot of reps at guard throughout fall camp and, with Memmelaar's injury, could be forced into playing time earlier than expected.
While it would be somewhat surprising if the coaching staff made the decision to burn Landen's redshirt in 2023, the coaches intend to have him take the field at some point during the season. With Brailsford and both Hatchetts, the coaching staff appears very comfortable with the interior of the offensive line if someone else goes down.
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