Washington Huskies Center to Miss Remainder of Season

SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies football team won't announce whether third-year Demond Williams Jr. or fellow junior Elijah Brown will start at quarterback until the day of their game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday.

Whichever quarterback starts against Nebraska, they won't have fourth-year center Landen Hatchett snapping the football.

Hatchett announced in a post on his official Instagram account Monday that he would miss the rest of the season. The decision came after he underwent a medical evaluation following a head/neck/spine injury during practice in the team's bye week.

Hatchett shared the news as well as an official statement in his post on Instragram:

"Husky Nation, Last week, during our bye week, I underwent a medical evaluation regarding an injury involving my head, neck and spine. After meeting with the medical team, I learned that I would be unable to return to the field for the remainder of the 2026 season. While this is obviously disappointing, and I'm extremely saddened to not have the opportunity to compete, I am expecting to make a full recovery will be focused on my rehabilitation and preparing to return to the field for the 2027 season. I want to thank my family, teammates, coaches and medical staff for their incredible support throughout this process. Most importantly, I want to thank Husky Nation for all the love and support you've shown me. Out of respect for my privacy, I won't be making any additional comments regarding the injury. My focus now is on getting healthy, supporting my teammates and preparing for next season. I look forward to getting back and representing UW. Go Dawgs! -- Landen Hatchett"

Out of respect for Hatchett's decision not to provide additional comments on the injury, UW head coach Jedd Fisch didn't go into specifics regarding estimated timeline or emotions regarding Hatchett being out the rest of the year.

"I think (Hatchett) mentioned that it was during the bye week is when he started feeling some stingers or whatnot," Fisch said in a weekly news conference Monday. "I'll leave it to that announcement though."

The news is another disappointing update for Hatchett, who missed the first five games of the season due to a wrist injury.

Hatchett's injury occurred in the game against the Illinois Fightin' Illini last season. He underwent surgery at the end of the season but was expected to be back at the beginning of spring.

The center missed the spring and underwent a second surgery in the offseason that pushed his return to after Big Ten play began.

In Hatchett's stead, fourth-year offensive lineman Kolt Dieterich, who filled in for the former through the first five games of the season, will be the starting center.