Amid Husky Falloff, Dieterich Elevates His Play

Once this University of Washington football season is over, several players will look in the mirror, or at least at the video, and come to understand that they underperformed, that they missed blocks, tackles or completions that were well within their capabilities, that they could have done better.

Kolt Dieterich will not be one of them.

Even with Saturday's 28-25 loss to Penn State, the offensive lineman from Texas continued to draw plaudits for showing up under trying circumstances and doing what was necessary when he was needed most.

The previous weekend at Nebraska, Dieterich started at center for the first time in nearly a month and left the game limping in the first half. He returned to play in the next half, only to hurt something else and become unable to finish the game.

Kolt Dieterich calls out the defense while playing center against Utah State. | Dave Sizer photo

On top of that, he was suffering from an illness last week that prevented him from practicing on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Yet the 6-foot-6, 305-pound Dieterich, who grew up on a farm driving a tractor, climbed out of bed to gete his chores done against the Nittany Lions.

"He had a lot of things going on," UW coach Jedd Fisch said. "Man, that kid can battle. He played every single play. I thought he played really well."

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When this season is complete, and if the Huskies don't win at Michigan State on Saturday it could be over without a bowl game, a handful of players will be singled out for significantly advancing their games and enriching their careers.

Among them will be wide receiver Chris Lawson, tight end Baron Naone, punter Hunter Green and Dieterich.

The latter arrived from Sam Houston State and, even while dealing with a shoulder injury that limited his play throughout spring ball, found the jump from Conference USA to the Big Ten overly manageable and hardly daunting.

With center Landen Hatchett recovering from a broken wrist, Dieterich made the conversion from offensive tackle to center in fall camp and started the first five games over the ball. He was respectable at it even while learning as he went.

Kolt Dieterich (55), shown with Geirean (56) and Landen (66) Hatchett and Dom Harris (79), was limited in the spring. | Dave Sizer photo

Once Hatchett made a short-lived comeback before suffering a season-ending neck injury, Dieterich slid over to left offensive guard, another line position he had never played before, started two games and handled himself reasonably well.

So while his UW team (5-4 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) struggles to get to the finish line of the regular season and possibly beyond, Dieterich just shakes off all of his personal obstacles and comes ready to play every time.

"Altogether, I'm really proud of him," Fisch said.

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