Young Hatchett Draws Praise for Being Physically Ready to Compete

Husky coach Kalen DeBoer singled out the freshman center without prompting.

No one in the assembled media group asked Kalen DeBoer about Landen Hatchett. On Friday, the University of Washington football coach simply brought up the freshman center's name without any prompting, as if he couldn't wait to talk about him.

This happens when a player shows up in Montlake physically ready to go in the trenches from day one, showing no fear of anyone or a need for a transitionary period.

This was the case for Nick Harris, who appeared in 12 of 14 Husky games as a freshman in 2016, starting four of them at right and left guard, and now plays for the Cleveland Browns.

This happened for Danny Shelton, too, who arrived in 2011 and played right away in his first year in all 13 UW outings at defensive tackle, starting against Washington State in the Apple Cup, and has been in the NFL for most of a decade.

Now comes young, long-haired Hatchett, powerfully built at 6-foot-2 and 297 pounds, and as confident as anyone wearing a purple or white jersey. 

"It's fun seeing Landen Hatchett come in," DeBoer said enthusiastically. "He does a good job for being a guy who just stepped on the football field a little over a week ago."

Redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford (72) and freshman Landen Hatchett (66) are center candidates / Skylar Lin Visuals

As the little brother for UW sophomore offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett, Landen hasn't seen anything he doesn't already know about.

He showed up for a majority of Husky spring practices a year ago, when he wasn't taking visits to Oregon, USC and Texas A&M.

A month ago, he was a steady presence once again when the latest spring practice began, though he couldn't take part because he couldn't enroll any sooner than the end of March.

Landen Hatchett was an interested spectator for the first three days of UW spring practice / Skylar Lin Visuals

While he might not play much at center right away, with capable sixth-year senior Matteo Mele designated as the starter and redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford drawing plaudits, chances are the Huskies will find good use for Hatchett somewhere in the coming months and games.

"We knew he was a great football player," DeBoer said. "But he's in it. He loves it. The physicality part is impressive, seeing how far along he is at such a young age."

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