Landen Hatchett, elite center, says Oregon Ducks visit set a high bar; Washington has family connection

Ferndale (Washington) center Landen Hatchett has a top five of Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, USC and Washington

Ferndale High School (Washington) interior offensive lineman Landen Hatchett is one of the nation's top centers.

As such, his recruiting ranking is tamped down due to his position.

But make no mistake, the 6-foot-3, 315-pound center is a coveted prize.

Rated a three-star prospect, Hatchett has trimmed his list of 16 offers down to just five finalists: Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, USC and Washington.

Over the weekend, Hatchett took the first of his five official visits to Oregon, and had high praise for the Ducks.

“Going into this visit, I knew that they were a top contender, but this visit really re-affirmed my thoughts," he said. "I got all the information and needed and got to be around players and staffs. One of the big things for me is the relationships. You don’t want to go to a school when you don’t like the people around you. It was great to sit around with coach (Dan) Lanning and coach (Adrian) Klemm and they want me to make an early impact. It was my first official visit, and it was a good one to set the bar with." 

One intriguing element of Oregon's pitch is the potential opportunity to play baseball.

While recruiting Hatchett, the Oregon staff noticed his baseball highlights - Hatchett set the single-season school record for home runs this year (6 in 20 games) -  and sent them to the baseball coaching staff.

That led to some discussion about Hatchett potentially playing both sports at Oregon.

"Baseball would be an added bonus," he said.

Bo Knows @oregonfootball @OregonBaseball pic.twitter.com/KNKMfzItWS

— Landen Hatchett (@LandenHatchett) May 16, 2022

Still, even with a strong first visit to Oregon, Washington has some major factors in it's favor.

The in-state school successfully recruited Hatchett's brother, Geirean Hatchett, as part of the 2020 recruiting class.

Still just a redshirt freshman, the brothers would be able to play multiple years together in Seattle.

“For me, I have a super unique relationship with U-Dub," Hatchett said. "I’ve known them since the seventh grade with my older brother going there. Not everyday you get to see a recruit play alongside his brother. Coach (Scott) Huff is sticking around and I’ve known him for five or six years now. We never really had a favorite team, but with [former Ferndale star] Jake Locker going there, there’s a UW feel around here.”

 Still, he intends to find the right fit for him as an individual.

“I’m trying to make the right path for me," he said.

Next up  for Hatchett is a busy month of June.

He'll take official visits to Texas A&M (June 10), Michigan (June 17), Washington (June 24) and is working on setting up a USC trip during the month as well.

That may be enough to give him the information needed to make his college decision.