Huskies Are Hopeful to Get Their Headliners Back for Oregon

With Oregon coming to Husky Stadium on Saturday, it should be all hands on deck for the University of Washington football team.

As far as regaining the services of the handful of headliners who have sat out or been limited in their recent play, UW coach Jedd Fisch tried to sound hopeful as he met with the media to begin the week.

"I'm really looking forward to this game," he said. "I think we're healthy, so that's good."

Yet while revealing that freshman receiver Raiden Vines-Bright has been cleared to play, the Husky leader couldn't make any promises when it came to how involved running back Jonah Coleman and wide receiver Denzel Boston would be.

"I expect them both to be back in a more significant manner they they were last week," he said.

In that case, the 5-foot-9, 220-pound Coleman would be in line to play more than a dozen snaps, which is what he drew in this past Saturday's 48-14 win over UCLA, and Boston, the team's leading receiver with 52 catches, would play more than the handful he drew at the Rose Bowl.

"What that means, I don't know how many reps that is," Fisch said. "But a substantial amount."

Coleman has been hobbled for two weeks now with a knee injury. He sat out the Purdue game and then drew four carries for 6 yards and a short touchdown plunge in highly restricted play against the Bruins.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Boston hurt an ankle on a punt return at Wisconsin and didn't play against Purdue and very little against UCLA.

Vines-Bright suffered a concussion after catching a pass against Purdue and sat out against UCLA, but he's in and out of the injury protocol.

The Huskies likewise have missed the services of junior center Landen Hatchett and junior offensive tackle Drew Azzopardi for two games now, with Hatchett forced to wear a cast on his injured snapping hand and Azzopardi dealiing with an ankle injury.

UW center Landen Hatchett (66) is trying to return for Saturday's Oregon game. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The 6-foot-3, 320-pound Hatchett has been cleared to play and dressed out in uniform for each of the past two games.

However, the cast is a hindrance to his snapping abilities and the coaching staff has elected to use sophomore Zach Henning as the No. 1 center in his absence and that situation doesn't appear likely to change.

The 6-foot-7, 315-pound Azzopardi was injured in the first half of the Huskies' 13-10 loss at Wisconsin and hasn't played since. The Huskies are hoping to get him back for the Ducks.

"Right now, he's trending in a positive direction," Fisch said. "He's done a great job with rehab and our goal is to get him in the game in some capacty."

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