With center Landen Hatchett back from his 2025 wrist injury and Elijah Brown at quarterback, Washington’s offensive line appeared to finally have found its footing. Now, a season-ending injury to Hatchett puts all that progress in jeopardy.
On Monday morning, Hatchett announced via his Instagram that he had suffered a new injury to his “head, neck, and spine,” which will sideline him for the remainder of the season.
After returning from a wrist injury to play the last two games, Washington center Landen Hatchett announces he will miss the rest of the season with a head/neck/spine injury. He says he plans to return in 2027. pic.twitter.com/SulOK6oyoV
— Christian Caple (@ChristianCaple) October 26, 2026
Hatchett described himself as “extremely saddened” by the news, and he’s not the only one. Head coach Jedd Fisch, who expressed excitement upon Hatchett’s return earlier this month, clearly was a bit bummed as well.
“I’ll just defer to that,” Fisch said at Monday’s press conference, though he did clarify that the injury was noticed during the bye week. “Unfortunately he will not be able to play for us [again] this season.”
Landen Hatchett out for season with new injury, will return in 2027
Fisch, who described the loss of Hatchett as “very challenging,” touted the fourth-year’s contributions since returning two weeks ago. Brown was sacked only twice after entering against Iowa, and only once all game against Purdue the following week.
“Clearly, you could see the difference he made last week,” Fisch said on Monday. In addition to displaying improved pass-blocking, Washington’s offensive line also paved the way for the team’s best rushing performance of the season. The Huskies tallied a season-high 186 total rushing yards against the Boilermakers, and also produced the season’s first 100-yard solo campaign: eight carries for 113 yards and a touchdown from running back Trey Cooley.
Now, the Huskies will be forced to return to their previous rotation, which allowed 19 sacks in 5.5 games with quarterback Demond Williams Jr. behind center.
With Landon Hatchett gone once again, expect changes across Washington’s offensive line
Hatchett is only one man, but his injury has set in motion a cascade of changes which will be visible at four of the five offensive line positions.
The most obvious change will come at center, where jack-of-all-trades transfer tackle Kolt Dieterich stepped in this offseason despite never playing the position at any level. Dieterich rotated at center with a returning Hatchett against Iowa but played most of his snaps (50/85) at left guard. With Hatchett full-go against Purdue, Dieterich rotated in and out at guard, but he’s now set to resume the full-time center role he held for the first five weeks of the season.
“[We have a] ‘Next man up’ mentality, [and we’re] looking forward to watching Kolt continue to grow in his position," Fisch said.
Dieterich’s rotations at guard were necessary because star left guard John Mills has found continued success at left tackle. Mills’ usage on the exterior has steadily increased this season, and it appears to be working: He holds the nation’s fifth-highest Pro Football Focus (PFF) pass block grade–an incredible 92.4–despite taking almost a third of this year’s 465 snaps at tackle.
Clearly, Mills is capable on the outside, but his move there was also driven by inconsistency from freshman left tackle Kodi Greene. Greene has three games with a PFF pass block grade above 79, but two with a grade below 34, including a shocking 0.0 which he received against USC. He was reduced to a rotational role after two weeks, but the cascading effects of Hatchett’s absence will now likely see his snap count increase.
Moving Greene back to left tackle, Mills back to left guard, and Dieterich back to center would return Washington’s offensive line to the exact state in which it began its troubled 2026 campaign. Thankfully, it’s unlikely to be that simple. Fisch indicated on Monday that Mills would keep rotating at left tackle, and that former starter Geirean Hatchett would shoulder additional responsibility at left guard during such rotations.
“John will play a lot of reps at left guard, but you also have Geirean,” Fisch said. “Geirean will take a lot of left guard reps this week as well.”
The elder Hatchett started Week 2 at right guard and has continued to rotate in with starter Champ Taulealea. However, he’s seen only 36 total snaps in the past two weeks, and just 66 of his 271 total snaps have come on the left side. He could still rotate with Taulealea on the right, but expect most of his future usage to come on the left side when Mills shifts out to tackle.
As for Mills, Fisch said he was unsure whether the changes would reduce his usage out wide. It appears as though the frequency with which Mills is used at tackle will depend on the elder Hatchett’s results at guard, but Fisch hasn’t given up on Greene, either.
“We’ll see what that looks like with Geirean at left guard and John at left tackle, and of course, I thought Kodi had his best game,” Fisch said. “Watching Kodi play against the pass-rushers they had at Purdue, I thought he did a really, really good job. I thought he did an excellent job in the running game, so that gives us a lot of confidence. Kodi had a great bye week, and I would expect him to play a substantial amount of reps at left tackle.”
"Kodi [Greene] is going to be a sensational football player... I'd be shocked if he's not drafted in the first round." Jedd Fisch on the former 5-star left tackle.
— Nick Lemkau (@nicklemkaucfb) October 26, 2026
Says last week against Purdue was his best week thus far.
Hatchett’s injury is a major loss for Washington, but the Huskies still have depth options along the offensive line. Now, they’ve got to keep building momentum. Their first test as a reformed unit, which comes Saturday night on the road against Nebraska, will likely be a tone-setter for the remainder of the season, no matter what the result.
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