Inside The Huskies

Rebuilt Husky Offensive Line Looks Mean, Plays Like It

The five starters have graded out well and become a fairly cohesive unit.
Dan Raley|
Landen Hatchett at his fiery best during the Apple Cup in Pullman.
Landen Hatchett at his fiery best during the Apple Cup in Pullman. | Dave Sizer photo

With his long, stringy hair and bushy, red beard, Landen Hatchett looks like he just left a Banditos clubhouse somewhere and rode into Husky Stadium on a Harley Davidson, daring anyone to get in his way.

In the photo above, he appears ready to rumble not unlike Jax, the fearless lead character in the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle gang TV series. He's certainly got his emotions on all cylinders and not someone you would necessarily tell to chill out after kickoff.

As the University of Washington football team gets ready to host No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State on Saturday before an overflow crowd and a CBS TV national audience, image is everything.

Last year at this time, the Huskies didn't have an offensive line that could stick out its chest and put the fear of a pancake block into a Big Ten opponent. Oh, there were occasional victories in the trenches, but the better teams feasted on the continually evolving UW offensive line, making Jonah Coleman practically have to rush for 1,000 yards all on his own.

As the Buckeyes go through their myriad scouting reports for this weekend's games, they'll note that Jedd Fisch's latest line is largely a veteran group now that comes with proven credentials, plenty of size and an overabundance of hair.

"I think we've set a standard of play we don't want to get away from ... I think the more we play, the tighter we'll be and kind of the cleaner everything will get," Hatchett said. "I'm excited where we're at."

To get a real sense of how much better the Huskies are coming out of their stances in a year's time watch the two X videos attached below.

John Mills, freshman starter at left offensive guard, has played well in three games.
John Mills, freshman starter at left offensive guard, has played well in three games. | Dave Sizer photo

In the first one, note how 6-foot-6, 325-pound freshman offensive guard John Mills, Landen Hatchett's Viking warrior twin, completely obliterates Washington State linebacker Anthony Palano in the Apple Cup.

Mills not only drives Palano all the way to Colfax with his fearsome blocking skills, he buries him 10 feet under in the Martin Stadium end zone.

Nothing of that sort happened up front for the UW in 2024.

For comparative sake, watch the following X video from last year's Apple Cup. Note how the three Huskies leading the blocking on the fourth-and-1 play to win the game at the end receive the Mills treatment from the Cougars, getting shoved off the line or simply fail to clear a path.

There's just no comparison to how much more confident and powerful these Huskies are as they prepare to face the nation's top-rated team.

"Our offensive line continues to be a big piece of the offensive puzzle," Fisch said.

What's important is continuity. While the UW has had to swap out starting wide receivers, linebackers, cornerbacks, nickelbacks and defensive tackles so far through its first three games, the offensive line has remained firmly intact. Same five starters. All playing at a high level.

From left to right, it goes Carver Willis, Mills, young Hatchett, Geirean Hatchett and Drew Azzopardi, with Azzopardi the only survivor from last year's starting O-line.

Geirean Hatchett and Dave Azzopardi hold the Apple Cup up high.
Geirean Hatchett and Dave Azzopardi hold the Apple Cup up high. | Dave Sizer phot

Nearly all of them have penciled out with high grades in games from the various analytics groups, with Landen Hatchett, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound junior, consistently pulling numbers that rank him among the top centers on this side of the country.

While Ohio State is bound to have a surplus of talent at every position coming in, the Huskies stand to give the visitors a good physical battle up front, if not unnerve them some with their motorcycle club appearance.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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