The Tale of Two Husky Centers and Their Season Opener Situations

Landen Hatchett likely will play while transfer D'Angalo Titialii is the starter.

Center Landen Hatchett is shown in warmups during the 2023 season. / Skylar Lin Visuals

As the University of Washington offensive line comes together this season, a lot of progress has been made in identifying five new starters for Saturday night's season opener, but it's still not necessarily a finished product.

Landen Hatchett, possibly the Husky lineman with the most upside in terms of eventual pro prospects and individual honors, enters the Weber State game listed as the back-up center to Portland State transfer D'Angalo Titialii.

The 6-foot-2, 310-pound Hatchett from Ferndale, Washington, remains just eight months removed from tearing up his right knee in a Sugar Bowl practice in in December and having surgery, which means he's on a very fast turnaround to even be considered available to play at this moment.

"He's fully cleared and we'll just kind of see how it goes in the game," said Brennan Carroll, UW offensive coordinator and line coach. "I would bet he'll be in there at some point in time."

As the highest rated of five linemen brought in last season, Hatchett appeared in nine games as a true freshman for the Huskies, taking snaps at both center and guard. He was just one of a handful of first-year players who was ready to play immediately.

Two other players in the UW two-deeps who came away with damaged knees last season in Montlake or elsewhere -- offensive guard Gaard Memmelaar and Oklahoma safety transfer Justin Harrington -- were hurt either in fall camp or in the first two weeks of the season, which has given them a big head start of four and three months over Hatchett in going through the recovery process.

Memmelaar, a 6-foot-4, 299-pound junior, is projected to start at left guard while Harrington, a 6-foot-3, 209-pound seventh-year senior, is listed behind Kam Fabiculanan at safety entering the Weber State game but expected to play quite a bit.

Hatchett, even as a young guy, is one of the team leaders so his return to full-fledged duty is a big deal for Jedd Fisch's coaching staff.

"He's doing great now," Carroll said. "He's done everything right. He's been a fantastic teammate. He's gone through rehab and he's been elite. I'm really excited where we go from here."

D'Angalo Titialii is one of 10 springtime UW portal pick-ups, coming from Portland State. / PSU

Meantime, the 6-foot-2, 325-pound Titialii will have his chance to live out a dream as a local guy from Auburn, Washington, one who previously was ignored by the UW in recruiting but gets to open the season as a starter for his hometown team.

"He always wanted to be here," Carroll said. "It's been the school he grew up rooting for so he was very excited to get the opportunity."

A fourth-year senior, Titialii is a seasoned FCS player who appeared in 32 games for Portland State and started 28 of them, including a 2022 game against the Huskies, which turned into a humbling 52-6 defeat for him.

"He's played a lot of football," his UW coach said. "He's seen a lot. He's got a great background to help us get this thing off the ground."

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