Washington is coming back strong in the Big 10 after Jedd Fisch’s debut last year. With a phenomenal QB in Demond Williams Jr., the Huskies are now gearing up to publish a respectable finish. Interestingly, Fisch is leaning towards assigning starting duties to a 17-year-old marvel after undergoing a minor hiccup. The young player is already building a name for himself at Montlake. After a long fall camp practice on August 9, some new developments are catching our eye.

Last year was quite a time for Jedd Fisch. He got the bare remnants of a team when Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama, and many players transferred out simultaneously. The Huskies’ 2024 run makes you forget that they were a National Championship contender in 2023. This year, that spirit seems to be abuzz in Montlake. Fisch and the Huskies are getting into the grind of going back to that level of football. However, his promising second year was seeing a temporary blow. Veteran guard Geirean Hatchett went down with a painful injury at practice, which changed things a little bit for Washington at the line of scrimmage.

The sixth-year offensive guard will bounce back at the next practice, thankfully, as he was later seen walking about with his teammates. However, with him being taken off the field, the O-line went through some shuffling. In an August 11 episode of Locked On Huskies, Roman Tomashoff said, “The biggest battle, maybe even on the team, really has been at left guard, where it’s been redshirt freshman Paki Finau and true freshman John Mills. We kind of got to see what the plan was if something happened, just on the interior of the offensive line. And now we know it’s Paki Finau, who now kicked over to right guard for the majority of the rest of the snaps while Jon stood in on the left side.”

Since Day 1, 17-year-old John Mills has made it clear that he wants to start in the O-line right away. The 6-6, 320 lbs freshman was made to lose weight to keep him competing for the left guard role with Finau. Since spring camp, he saw a majority of reps at left guard while also practicing at right and as a reserve left tackle. In high school, Mills repeatedly won the conference lineman of the year title. His imposing size makes him a solid weapon on that O-line, which Demond Williams will be relying on. With a physique like that and reminding fans of a Viking-like persona in John Mills, Fisch can very well hope to debut a freshman in this O-line.

“I would expect one of the freshmen, if not two, to be significant contributors if not starters,” Jedd Fisch said during spring camp. John Mills is also fighting for his position with Champ Taulealea, and the HC was indicating one of these two as one of his contributors. However, losing someone like Geirean Hatchett was enough to have a big crowd on the sidelines as things broke down.

Why Geirean Hatchett is a crucial element for Washington

It wasn’t Demond Williams Jr., the star of the Huskies’ O-line, who stunned the crowd into silence. On August 10, it was Hatchett. The 6th-year returner took a blow to his right knee and doubled over in pain. The whole squad thought they were losing one of their best in that O-line. Hatchett was part of the Joe Moore Award-winning O-line that faced off against No. 1 Michigan in 2023. The OL is coming back to the gridiron after a year away, dealing with an injury. Hatchett transferred to Oklahoma in 2024, where he injured his bicep and needed surgery.

Hatchett couldn’t see a lot of game action save for the 2023 season, where he started at right guard in 4 games. He also missed 6 outings due to injuries. But after a troubling Oklahoma season last year, Hatchett saw an open road lying out for him towards Washington. He is the only player of the 18 who left after the 2023 season to come back. Geirean could play with his brother, Landen, in 2025.

Jedd Fisch’s new Washington squad is looking to kick up some storm with Demond Williams. He will need the help of a strong support system. This one, led by Geirean Hatchett and John Mills, seems to have enough juice to keep the QB protected and give him the room required to make the points.