Landen Hatchett doubtful for Washington at USC

Washington went into the week saying it would be a game-time decision. By Saturday afternoon the word had changed.

Pete Thamel

@PeteThamel

Sources: Washington center Landen Hatchett is considered doubtful for the game at USC tonight. He’s yet to play for the Huskies this year, but is expected to return in near future. Of the 22 starters for Washington, 14 will be first or second year players — five freshmen and nine sophomores.

That's a big step backward. Hatchett was listed as questionable on the Big Ten's availability report on Wednesday, an upgrade from the doubtful tag he carried into last week's Minnesota game. Jedd Fisch called it "a game-time decision" this week. Now it sounds like the Huskies are planning to snap the ball without him again.

This has dragged on for a while. Hatchett broke his snapping wrist against Illinois last season and finished that game. The next week against Wisconsin he started and tried to snap with his other hand, then finally shut it down. He had a second surgery on the right wrist in the spring to get ready for this year, and he's still missed 7 straight games across 2 seasons. He also tore the ACL in his right knee in practice as a freshman in 2023, before the Sugar Bowl, after playing in 9 games.

There's a silver lining for the long term. Under the NCAA's new eligibility rule, which gives players 5 years to play 5 full seasons, every game the 6-foot-3, 315-pound center misses this fall moves him a game closer to coming back for a 5th season in 2027. So none of this is wasted, even if it's killing Washington right now.

And right now is the problem. Thamel's other number is the one that jumps out: 14 of Washington's 22 starters are first- or second-year players, with 5 freshmen and 9 sophomores. Taking a veteran center out of that group means a young offense makes its line calls at the Coliseum without the guy who's supposed to be running them.

The setting doesn't help. Washington is 3-1 and 0-1 in the Big Ten after a Minnesota loss where Fisch counted around 20 missed tackles. USC is 4-1 and 1-1 in conference, and the forecast in Los Angeles is calling for heat near 100 degrees. Fisch joked that his team has been doing hot yoga at 7 every morning, and he promised they won't go in there and play scared.

Thamel's sources still say Hatchett should be back soon, so watch how this Husky line holds up in his absence. If the young group survives a road night at USC, Washington gets its center back for the second half of the season with the offense in one piece. If it doesn't, the Huskies will be 0-2 in the Big Ten and still waiting on that wrist.