Hatchett Made Smooth Transition to Starter in Win Over Cal

The veteran Husky offensive lineman worked hard for his promotion.

Into his fourth University of Washington football season, following 16 games of dedicated service across the offensive line, including a stint at blocking tight end, Geirean Hatchett made the long-awaited jump to starter against California. 

Last weekend, the 6-foot-4, 302-pound sophomore from Ferndale, Washington, held up well after taking on added responsibility in the decisive 59-32 victory over the Golden Bears — with the Huskies emerging from a third consecutive game without giving up a sack.

Hatchett became the third player this season to start at right offensive guard for the UW, following redshirt freshman Parker Brailsford and junior Nate Kalepo.

"For Geirean, he's getting a lot better in pass protection," Husky offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. "In the run game, he's a dominant player. He can be a factor. Just seeing him become a more complete offensive lineman has been fun to see."

Along the way, Hatchett was spelled by his younger brother, 6-foot-2, 310-pound freshman Landen Hatchett, who plays both center and guard.

Some might find that a little confusing in trying to differentiate siblings who share the same position at times, but not Grubb. One has a shaved head, the other locks so long he could be the singer in a rock band.

"Long hair, short hair, so they're really easy to find," the coordinator quipped. "One's a a little shorter than the other."

The Hatchetts were one of three sets of brothers who were in uniform for the UW for this latest outing, with all except one of these guys drawing playing time.

In the fourth quarter, linebackers Carson and Braydon Bruener, a junior and a redshirt freshman from Redmond, Washington, had a family moment when they played side by side against Cal.

While sophomore defensive tackle Jayvon Parker pulled plenty of snaps throughout this contest, his brother Armon, a redshirt freshman, remains in development following a first-year knee injury and didn't budge from the sideline, still awaiting his college debut.

The Hatchetts, who took snaps next to each other the week before at Michigan State, have been reunited as teammates for the first time since the 2019 football season, when they lined up at Ferndale High as a senior and freshman, respectively.

"We played together for one year in high school, but this definitely is going to be a whole different level of football obviously," Geirean Hatchett said before the season began. "It's real exciting. Good for us, good for our parents."

The older Hatchett finds himself entrenched as the No. 1 right guard after the latest reshuffle for the UW offensive line in recent weeks.

Senior center Matteo Mele first was lost to a season-ending bicep injury against Tulsa, requiring Brailsford to move over from guard and replace him.  

To fill in the missing body for Mele, the Huskies started 6-foot-9, 313-pound junior Julius Buelow at left guard against Michigan State and moved Kalepo from left to right guard. Yet Buelow went down with an ankle injury against the Big Ten team and was held out of the Cal game, opening the way for Geirean Hatchett.  

Overall, the Huskies have started 30 different players this season at the 22 spots that fill up the offensive and the defensive lineups.

Hatchett, whose recruiting portfolio was more impressive than most of his UW teammates after it counted offers from Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma, hails from the Huskies' touted 2020 class of five offensive linemen.

Of that group, Roger Rosengarten is a two-season starter at right tackle next to Hatchett, Samuel Peacock has appeared in five games over two seasons as a back-up right tackle, offensive guard Gaard Memmelaar is out for the season recovering with a foot injury and Myles Murao transferred out this past spring and starts at offensive tackle for San Diego State.

With Hatchett, who can play any position up front, it was time for him to move up. 

"For Geirean, it's great to see a guy who had worked for a long time, been in this program, good player, trying to get his tool set completely put together,"  Grubb said.

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