With K-State Portal Add, Here's What Husky Offensive Line Might Look Like

Carver Willis, formerly of Kansas State and committed to the University of Washington football team, plays right tackle.

So does Drew Azzopardi, who has started all 12 games in that spot for the Huskies this season with the Sun Bowl against Louisville to come.

Something, or somebody, has got to give, right?

As the Huskies continue their Christmas shopping for players who can immediately help and restore the offensive line to something more competitive in 2025, they either have a backlog at right tackle or one of those guys is moving to the left side.

With Willis pledging to the Huskies on Thursday, Jedd Fisch's team appears to have four starting offensive-line positions in place at the moment.

Considering Willis' FBS pedigree -- as an 18-game starter and 2023 All-Big 12 honorable-mention selection -- let's presume he'll become the left tackle, which typically is where a team's best offensive lineman plays and often is referred to as the NFL's money position.

The 6-foot-5, 291-pound Willis would join in the competition with returnees in 6-foot-8, 325-pound redshirt freshman Soane Faasolo and 6-foot-6, 295-pound junior Maximus McCree, both of whom started four times at left tackle this season.

The UW will make sure quarterback Demond Williams Jr. has a line he can count on in 2025. | Skylar Lin Visuals

The recently departed redshirt freshman Kahlee Tafai, another four-game starter at left tackle, in a social-media posting seemed to be a little miffed when he entered the portal. We're guessing here, but the 6-foot-5, 338-pound Tafai might have expected a playing time commitment and didn't receive one.

As it stands, with senior center D'Angalo Titialii down to one game before his eligibility runs out, Azzopardi stands to be the Huskies' only season-long starter who returns in 2025.

With Willis and Azzopardi at the tackles, add the Hatchett brothers, Landen and Geirean, to a prospective starting lineup at center and one of the guard spots, respectively.

Huskies Drew Azzopardi (74) and Landen Hatchett (66) form pocket protection against Oregon. | Skylar Lin Visuals

The 6-foot-2, 310-pound sophomore Landen Hatchett has started the past four games at right guard and a fifth earlier in the season at left guard. However, coach Jedd Fisch has said the younger Hatchett will be his starting center in 2025.

Geirean Hatchett, a 6-foot-5, 318-pound senior, will transfer back to the UW after spending this past year with Oklahoma, though playing in just two games before suffering a season-ending biceps injury. He started at left guard and was an emergency fill-in at center. This Hatchett, who could have two seasons of eligibility left, was a four-game starter at right guard for the Huskies in 2023.

That leaves one guard spot in need of a more domineering presence. Gaard Memmelaar, an 11-game starter at left guard, has entered the transfer portal, though he will remain with the team for the Sun Bowl.

Redshirt freshman Zach Henning, who's appeared in every game this season and started once as a blocking tight end, is a possibility. So are freshmen Paki Finau and Michael Levelle Watkins.

However, should the Huskies want a much more experienced player, former Arizona offensive guard Wendell Moe, a 27-game starter who played half of them for Fisch, is shopping himself around. So far, the 6-foot-2, 339-pounder has proved enticing to recruiters and received offers from Miami, Tennessee, Auburn, UCLA, Arizona State and the Huskies.

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