Huskies Still Waiting To Get Long Look At Dieterich

A familiar scene at University of Washington spring football practice came two-thirds of the way through when offensive lineman Kolt Dieterich moved off to the side and removed his jersey and shoulder pads.

Like clockwork, the Sam Houston State transfer got partially undressed, distanced himself from the 11-on-11 team play and finished up the afternoon by running sprints and doing other exercises alongside senior center Landen Hatchett.

Recovering from injuries, both players were kept out of any daily contact, so they were left to work out on their own to the end.

Thus the 6-foot-6, 295-pound Dieterich from Riesel, Texas, which is not far from Waco, joined his new team on a limited basis with an unspecified health issue, and was able to show off his footwork but not much more in April.

"Nice job Kolt," offensive-line coach Michael Switzer yelled out while watching the new guy's technique during one drill. "I like it."

Kolt Dieterich (55) hangs out with Geirean and Landen Hatchett (56, 66) and freshman Dominic Harris (79). | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

From first impressions, Dieterich showed off a long frame that looked as if it could carry an additional 20 pounds at some point. He also seemed much thinner around the midsection by the end of spring ball than when it began.

Kolt Dieterich takes a break next to John Mills. | Dave Sizer photo

He arrived with the calling card of a versatile offensive lineman. While an 18-game starter at offensive tackle over two seasons for his Conference USA team, Dieterich often went through UW drills at offensive guard

When the Huskies first walked him through plays for the 10th practice, he lined up at left offensive guard and teamed with junior Soane Faasolo at left tackle, walk-on junior Parker Cross at center, redshirt freshman Champ Taulealea at right guard and Justin "Moose" Hylkema at right tackle.

Kolt Dieterich had limited involvement throughout spring ball. | Dave Sizer photo

The best thing about Dieterich is he's a seasoned player who's played against the likes of Texas, UNLV, Hawaii, Oregon State and a host of conference opponents.

"Kolt will give us great depth at left tackle and right tackle and compete with Drew [Azzopardi] and Kodi [Greene] right off the bat," Husky coach Jedd Fisch said of the current starters. "We'll make sure that we're not missing anyone right there and he's one of our best players."

What he's done: After Dieterich redshirted as a freshman, Sam Houston State made him a starting offensive tackle in 2024 for the final six games, which included a 31-26 victory over Georgia Southern in the New Orleans Bowl. Last season, he sopened a dozen games during a program fall-off, with the Bearkats finishing a miserable 2-10.

Starter or not: Dieterich has two seasons of eligibility remaining with the Huskies. He likely backs up Greene and Azzopardi at the tackle spots this season, then gets a chance to take over on the right side in 2027 after Azzopardi has moved on.

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