An update on Landen Hatchett, and 14 other things to know about Day 5 of Washington camp
DerekJohnson
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SEATTLE — It isn’t that Landen Hatchett can’t yet withstand contact, Brennan Carroll said. In fact, Hatchett said Monday that he’s working regularly with Zach Durfee, another potential starter recovering from surgery, on one-on-one battles and run fits.
“The thing we’ve held him out (of) is team situations,” said Carroll, the offensive coordinator and o-line coach, after Monday’s practice. “Where there’s a lot of bullets flying, multiple players, guys can get tangled up — things like that. That’s the only thing we’ve protected him from. He’s done everything else.”
It remains to be seen, though, when Hatchett, still rehabbing a December ACL tear, might switch from running resistance sprints on the sideline to snapping the ball to Will Rogers during 11-on-11 periods.
So far, Hatchett has spent most of UW’s training camp working out with a small group of teammates who are similarly recovering from injury, such as safety Kam Fabiculanan, defensive lineman Jayvon Parker, safety Justin Harrington and safety Tristan Dunn (receiver Denzel Boston joined the group on Monday with an apparently minor ailment). Asked when Hatchett might be ready to participate in team periods — a milestone that would indicate some possibility of playing in UW’s Aug. 31 opener — Carroll replied: “Pretty soon. Not too far … give or take.”
Hatchett can see progress. He said his top sprint times are even faster than what he ran pre-injury, “and the next big step from there is getting back into cutting and changing direction, and after that, you’re pretty much full go.”
Only a sophomore, Hatchett already is viewed by the coaching staff as a key figure in the locker room, and is a member of the team’s leadership council. Portland State transfer D’Angalo Titialii has taken most of the No. 1 center snaps with Hatchett sidelined, and Zach Henning has mostly played the position with the No. 2 offense.
As for his potential availability for the Weber State game, Hatchett said: “I don’t want to put a date on it, but I would love to be out there.”
Here’s what else to know about Washington’s fifth practice of training camp, again held mostly on the east field in mid-70-degree temperatures.
1. It’s not a stretch to believe Washington’s season is going to go as its o-line goes, considering all the change and relative inexperience at certain spots. Right tackle Drew Azzopardi transferred from San Diego State over the winter, and already feels like something of a veteran. Only one of the four linemen to his left — right guard Enokk Vimahi, Titialii, left guard Gaard Memmelaar and left tackle Soane Faasolo — were practicing with him this spring. I wondered what that must be like for him. “It’s going great so far,” Azzopardi said. “We’re all obviously from new spots, new places. We’re all just trying to come together, be a collective unit, communicate well, and really, that’s the biggest thing for an o-line — just getting the communication down and making sure we’re all on the same page.”
2. Memmelaar, of course, has been at Washington the past four seasons, but was still recovering this spring from the injury that wiped out his 2023 season. Actually, Carroll said, Memmelaar’s recovery went ahead of schedule, so he could have done a bit more toward the end of spring. But coaches decided to hold him out and not push it. Now, he’s taking every rep at left guard with the No. 1 offense.
3. As for the other guard position, coach Jedd Fisch hasn’t been shy about saying UW recruited Ohio State transfer Enokk Vimahi, a sixth-year senior, to come in and start. That’s been reflected in the reps so far. “He’s got a great foundation, and the transition for him is just working at our terminology, working into the way we do things,” Carroll said. “Each coach and each program is going to be a little bit different. And just making those adjustments. He’s done a fantastic job for us. He’s played a bunch of reps. He looks great out there. I’d expect him to be a big help this season.”
4. Faasolo has taken nearly all of the reps as the starting left tackle, but Carroll also said transfer Maximus McCree has “done fantastic, man.” He did acknowledge: “We’re gonna put some weight on him. But he’s a natural ballplayer. He knows how to play the position, and we’ll just keep developing that aspect of it. He’s done great.” McCree has played left tackle with the No. 2 offense. Long way to go until the season, but Faasolo appears to have the inside track at this point.
5. As for Azzopardi’s scouting report on Vimahi, from playing next to him: “Great guy, man. Everyone loves him, as soon as he came in. Great energy, great dude. I just can’t wait to play next to him. Great player, too.”
6. With Boston apparently recovering from an injury, freshman receiver Audric Harris saw plenty of reps with the No. 1 offense and made several catches during 11-on-11 periods. Even with Boston available, Harris appeared in position to at least contribute this year. When I asked receivers coach Kevin Cummings about young players he expected to rely on, he mentioned Harris right away. Originally an Arizona signee, Harris followed the coaching staff to UW and enrolled in time for spring practices. At this point, I’ll be surprised if he redshirts.
7. Another young player Cummings mentioned — and who took a bunch of reps with the No. 1 offense in the spring — was redshirt freshman Rashid Williams, but I haven’t seen him at the last few practices. I asked Carroll about him on Monday, and he said Williams has “a little bit of injury issues, but I expect to see him back not too far from now.” That’s meant more scrimmage reps for walk-on Camden Sirmon. Another second-team staple: Arizona transfer Kevin Green Jr., who is playing a lot behind Giles Jackson in the slot.
8. Speaking of Giles Jackson, he looks more and more like a veteran with each practice. His routes are crisp and his hands are steady. Jackson caught touchdown passes on consecutive throws from Will Rogers during a red-zone period near the end of practice, the first a slant from about 8 yards, and the second a fade amid tight coverage from Jordan Shaw. Jackson made a really tough catch in the end zone on that one. Jeremiah Hunter also was a frequent target during 11-on-11 throughout practice, though Elijah Jackson made a nice play to break up a fade to Hunter in the end zone thrown by Rogers during a red-zone period.
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9. During the same period, Cam Davis broke through the middle for an impressive 12-yard touchdown run, and Sam Adams went off tackle for a 12-yard score. Demond Williams also connected with walk-on tight end Owen Coutts for what appeared to be a short touchdown, and made a perfect throw to hit tight end Keleki Latu in stride for a big gain earlier in the period.
10. Senior tight end Quentin Moore continues to solidify his status as an important part of the Huskies’ offense. He made an acrobatic play to haul in a Williams pass thrown a bit behind him, reaching out with his left hand to corral it before pulling it in.
11. Williams’ best throw of the day was a perfect strike downfield to Green, dropped between cornerback Caleb Presley and safety Vincent Holmes during 7-on-7s. The freshman quarterback also threw the only interception of the day, on a pass over the middle that linebacker Carson Bruener snagged as he dropped back. It was intended for walk-on receiver Luke Luchini.
12. I was surprised to see the Huskies as the first team left out of the preseason top-25 coaches’ poll, considering UW hasn’t appeared in a single top-25 that I’ve seen, and ranked either ninth or 10th in the most-publicized Big Ten polls.
13. If, like me, you were wondering which top-25 ranking Fisch used for that t-shirt, shoutout to subscriber Troy Hunter for identifying it as Ari Wasserman’s post-spring rankings for The Athletic. Do we believe that Fisch didn’t remember where he got it? Hmmm.
14. When I arrived at Monday’s practice, there was a ladder set up inside Husky Stadium. Why? Apparently someone at UW agreed that last season’s College Football Playoff run should be associated with the year 2023, and not 2024, as originally signified. The record has been corrected.
— Christian Caple, On Montlake
2. Memmelaar, of course, has been at Washington the past four seasons, but was still recovering this spring from the injury that wiped out his 2023 season. Actually, Carroll said, Memmelaar’s recovery went ahead of schedule, so he could have done a bit more toward the end of spring. But coaches decided to hold him out and not push it. Now, he’s taking every rep at left guard with the No. 1 offense.
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The day began with a smattering of University of Washington football players stretching out their legs and lower backs when quarterback Will Rogers arrived at the East practice field.
Offensive guard Gaard Memmelaar immediately greeted the Mississippi State transfer with a fairly descriptive welcome that consisted of "silver spoon" and a bunch of words that can't be repeated here, suggesting his teammate had been pampered some.
DRFS, but...
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard
I'm pulling hard for this mf
Apparent Rogers shredded the defense today while Williams looked iffy.
There were really doogs thinking the SEC all time leader in pass yards wouldn't start
This team might be better with Fischer than it would've been with DeBailed
I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have been one of those doogs. Mostly was about prepping for 2025, but it was dumb in hindsight because we're going to be good in 2024 with Will Rogers, I reckon. Doog! Doog Doog!
Remember when @Kaepsknee said that Rogers was "average" under Leach and then you look it up and he was something like 38/8 td/int ratio 2 years in a row in the fucking SEC with Mud Dawg talent? That was lolz.
Thanks Taft!
Getting the Mud DAWGS to 9-4 while throwing 38/9 ain't easy.
UW has a difficult schedule, but there is no reason the WA DAWG can't at least get to 8-4.
USC and Michigan are losing to UW at home. Cook it.
We have a difficult schedule?
Pundits are saying it is the hardest in the Big.
CFNews has UW at 33rd
USC 1, UCLA 3, Purdue 4, Mich 5, Ore 11, Minn 12, and fuck the rest
https://collegefootballnews.com/rankings/college-football-schedule-rankings-easiest-to-hardest-1-to-134-2024
The worse you are the harder your schedule
this is the kind of insight I gladly pay Stalin all those rubles for
The road games will be tough, we drop a few of those, rather easily. The most intriguing gayme for me is the Michigan game. Michigan will be overly confident based on our last two meetings, but they haven’t played a greased up Husky Stadium at noise levels they will never experience again. Our Dwags win this one
Bingo. Winning makes the SoS drop.
I'm flying up for Michigan and there is no doubt in my mind that we're going to step into that ass, spray paint the walls, and leave Snickers wrappers scattered on the floor.
Yeah, but still
The Big 10 May as well just concede the Season now as you won’t beat a Will Rogers led squad, you just won’t.
Top 3-4 QB in the B1G is a reasonable expectation and everyone understands that he can't just will a shitty offense to wins. Like 1-3 quarterbacks can do that in a given year.
ok, buddy.
Beating those two but not winning ten games feels like a really weird prediction. You going to call them beating the ducks next?
A testimonial!