Washington Huskies Offensive Lineman Downgraded to 'Doubtful' For Big Ten Opener

The Washington Huskies football team will finally see how it stacks up against other Big Ten teams when it opens its conference slate against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 8 p.m. PT on Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

The Huskies have several questions remaining from their nonconference schedule. Included among those questions is how several offensive position groups will perform against other Big Ten programs.

The offensive line and running back positions have struggled through the first three games of the season. This is due to the amount of injury and turnover in both rooms. At running back, the team has lost the top three running backs on the depth chart, third-year Jordan Washington, second-year Quaid Carr and fourth-year Jayden Limar, for extended periods of time.

On the offensive line, first-year Kodi Greene has been tasked with protecting third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr.'s blindside. The snaps at right guard have also been split between second-year Champ Taulealea and seventh-year Geirean Hatchett.

At center, fourth-year player and Rimington Award preseason watchlist honoree Landen Hatchett has also been out nursing a wrist injury he suffered last season. Fourth-year Sam Houston State transfer Kolt Dieterich has filled in for Hatchett all three games, the first in the former's life at the position.

In the weeks leading up to UW's Big Ten opener against the Gophers, head coach Jedd Fisch and the rest of the coaching staff were targeting a return for the Big Ten opener for Landen Hatchett.

In a weekly news conference held via Zoom on Thursday, Fisch said the center had practiced more than he had all season to that point. Landen Hatchett was listed as "questionable" for Saturday's game in the team's initial injury report Wednesday.

The Huskies released their latest injury report Friday, which featured several updates.

One of the players who was listed as "questionable" with Hatchett, fourth-year defensive lineman DeSean Watts, was upgraded to "probable" for Saturday.

Hatchett, on the other hand, was downgraded from "questionable" to "doubtful."

Without Landen Hatchett in the fold, Washington's starting line for Saturday will likely be Greene at left tackle, second-year John Mills at left guard, Dieterich at center, Geirean Hatchett at right guard and fifth-year Drew Azzopardi at right tackle.

They'll be tasked with blocking for a depleted running back room for the third week in a row, which will feature first-year Brian Bonner and sixth-year Trey Cooley splitting the reps and first-year Ansu Sanoe in goal line packages