Washington is unlikely to get Landen Hatchett back for its first road test of the season.
The fourth-year center was listed as doubtful ahead of Saturday’s matchup with No. 18 USC at L.A.
Memorial Coliseum, according to ESPN College Football insider Pete Thamel on X. Hatchett had been treated as a game-time decision during the week, but all signs now point toward him sitting again.
That would keep Washington without a key piece of its offensive line for a seventh straight game this season. Hatchett has not played in 2026 because of a wrist injury he suffered last year against Illinois.
He did return for two more games after that injury, but the offseason only made the situation more complicated. He missed spring practice, had his second wrist surgery in May, and the timeline kept getting pushed back from there.
The original expectation was that the 6-foot-3, 315-pound center might be ready for the final stretch of fall camp. Instead, his return target slid to the Huskies’ Big Ten opener against Minnesota on Sept. 26, a game Washington dropped 27-24.
“When he had his surgery that first week in December, there was no thought process at all (that he would be out this long)," Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch said in a weekly news conference held via Zoom on Thursday. "We felt he'd be fully involved starting June 1. But then he had another surgery."
Even with Thamel’s report, Washington seemed to be leaving the door open as long as possible. Roman Tomashoff of Huskies Wire reported that third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. was taking snaps from Hatchett and fourth-year lineman Kolt Dieterich in warmups.
Hatchett entered the season on the Rimington Trophy preseason watchlist, an honor that goes to the nation’s best center. His absence has been felt up front. Washington has struggled to establish the run, and the line has been one of the youngest units on a roster that is young overall.
First-year tackle Kodi Greene has handled the left side all season and worked through the expected growing pains. Dieterich, who transferred to Washington from Sam Houston State after grading out as one of the top linemen in Conference-USA, has been the fill-in at center despite never playing the position before this year.
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