Kodi Greene Is No Longer As Green As He Once Was

No one disputes the fact that Kodi Greene has high-level football talent. He's huge though streamlined at 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds. He's athletic for someone his size yet could use a little more strength to be considered a finished product.

However, this University of Washington freshman was inserted from the outset as the starting left offensive tackle -- probably one of two positions, with quarterback being the other, where first-year players typically don't get saddled with that sort of instant responsibility.

After all, John Mills didn't start in his first Husky game at left tackle, nor did Demond Williams Jr. at quarterback for the UW.

Greene was different.

Kodi Greene listens for the snap count before colliding with the Washington State defensive line. | Dave Sizer phot

Jedd Fisch and his coaching staff decided to season this former 5-star recruit right away. To live and die with him up front. To let him learn on the job in order to accelerate his growth as a player.

And that's exactly what happened, with Greene having his moments of success before older Big Ten defensive linemen tossed him around a little and the having more positive reinforcement.

As the Huskies (4-3 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) prepare for Saturday night's game at Nebraska, which has a state of the art weight room and tends to produce overly physical linemen, Greene could go from five-game starter to two-game reserve and back to starter again against the Cornhuskers (5-2, 2-1).

Kodi Greene, left, chats up his fellow offensive linemen during the game against Iowa. | Dave Sizer photo

Reason being is Greene had what his coaches considered his best outing of the season in the recent 38-26 victory at Purdue, both in pass protecting and creating openings for the run game.

"He's getting better and better and better," UW coach Jedd Fisch said this week. "His best game was his last game and that was on the road against a Big Ten opponent. So that gives me nothing but confidence he'll continue to improve."

What complicated things a bit was Greene previously was demoted and Fisch and his staff needed to make sure that action didn't have a negative impact on their prized player nor that anyone suggested he was in any sense a disappointment.

Rather Fisch goes to great lengths to protect and promote this player during the maturation process by making bold claims.

"Kodi is going to be a sensational football player," Fisch said. "I'd be shocked if he's not drafted in the first round of the 2030 draft or whatever that number would be."

Meantime, Greene could have upwards of 500 game snaps before he's done with his freshman initiation season.

Champ Taulealea and Kodi Greene have a running debate at the Spring Game. | Dave Sizer photo

With center Landen Hatchett out for the season with a neck injury after missing all but two of the first seven games with a wrist injury, the Huskies will reshuffle the offensive line once more.

Maybe the easiest way would be to re-insert Greene as the starting left tackle and move Mills back to left guard.

"He's had the opportunity to play a lot of football for us," Fisch said, "and he will continue to play a lot more football for us."

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