Here's What Geirean Hatchett Means to Huskies

Rather than leave the field on a cart for the training room, Geirean emerged from the sideline with an ice bag strapped to his knee in question.

By now, he had limped to the edge of the stands in Husky Stadium and spoken at length to his parents, who had rushed through the stands to hang over the rail in the west end zone and show their concern.

Meantime, one UW player after another approached Landen, who stood nearby looking a little deflated, and patted him on the shoulder or the back to console him.

However, the prognosis for Geirean's knee seemed to only get better as the night played out. Once the two-hour scrimamge ended, he was moving around without the ice and the limp, and he was talking to his parents once more, with everyone looking a little less worried.

UW coach Jedd Fisch met with media members and gave a hopeful update that everyone who had received medical attention, and it was more than the older Hatchett, seemed to come out of it with minimal issues. While Hatchett might have to sit out a few practices, he appears far from done playing.

For this Hatchett, he previously had been with the Huskies and started four times at right guard during the 2023 run to the CFP national championship game, before transferring to Oklahoma last season after Kalen DeBoer left to coach Alabama.

"I had felt like with how many changes were happening here at Washington, and I had played four years here, and had been to the to highest point of college football with reaching the national championship, and I had graduated from here," Hatchett said, "I was just kind of ready for something new."

Yet he played in just two games for the Sooners, starting once, before he suffered a torn biceps muscle and was done for the season.

Back at the UW, the situation seemed ideal for him to return and answer to Fisch's staff that coaches with a run-first mentality whereas DeBoer's previous Husky coaches were clearly pass-oriented. He is a much better escort than pocket protector.

This 6-foot-4, 306-pound Hatchett seemed to endear himself to these Huskies because more than once he has acted as an enforcer in practice when some of the younger and brash defenders have got a little too physical with his wide receivers.

He's one of the reasons the offensive line is supposed to be noticeably upgraded this season. He is as physical as it gets up front.

Starting next to his brother likely is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. Keeping his mom unworried about his health is a priority. Not only that, there are probably lots of those Hatchett T-shirts left to distribute, saluting the Huskies' first family.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: