Just when it looked like the Washington (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) offense was just about to hit its stride after a 38-point performance against Purdue and a bye week to polish up, it took a major blow early this week.
Senior center Landen Hatchett announced on Instagram that he would be out for the rest of the season with a spine and neck injury. The senior played just two games this season after missing the first five with a wrist injury.
“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,” Hatchett said in his Instagram statement.”
Positional implications
Hatchett’s absence means UW will return to Kolt Dieterich who started the first five games at center and has switched to guard the past two games. Dieterich had never played center before this season, with his primary trade coming at the tackle spot.
Although Dieterich has made strides at the new position he still lacks the comfortability of commanding a huddle and calling out defensive fronts. Luckily for Dieterich, Hatchett will remain around the team and act as a great resource.
“[Landen’s] a great resource for the guys in the room in terms of, ‘hey what’d you see in here, what’d you see in there,’ and that’s kind of how it was before he was cleared to play this season,” offensive line coach Michael Switzer said.
With Dieterich shifting back to center, even more pressure falls on freshman tackle Kodi Greene. Greene had been splitting reps at tackle with sophomore John Mills. Without Dieterich to fill-in at guard, Greene will have to return to shouldering most of the snaps at left tackle while Mills returns to full-time guard.
Greene played his best game of the season against Purdue, but the young freshman will have his toughest test of the season against Nebraska and its ninth ranked defense on Saturday.
“After the Purdue game, I think [Kodi] played his best game, I think coach [Fisch] said that [on Monday],” Switzer said. “Starting out the season as the starter, having to cede some reps in terms of getting other guys in the game and some rotational stuff, I think that has benefited him.”
Run game implications
A major reason for UW’s offensive resurgence against Purdue was the establishment of the run game. Running back Trey Cooley had his best game as a Husky and the team totaled over 186 yards on the ground. A large part of the success on the ground was due to Hatchett playing without any snap-count restriction.
Cooley and freshman running back Brian Bonner remain healthy, but the rest of the running back room looks awfully thin behind them. Couple that with Hatchett’s absence and a Nebraska defense that limits ball-carriers to a 3.2 yards per-carry average, the deck looks stacked against Washington on Saturday.
“[Nebraska’s] got some active players in terms of interior and the outside guys. Really a sound defense overall in terms of how you look at them statistically, what they’re able to do throughout a game in terms of the different coverages and different pressures they bring, but really sound defensive plays physically,” Switzer said.
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