Huskies’ O-Line Settling as Freshman Big Boys Push For Playing Time
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Washington Huskies left tackle Carver Willis speaks with the Emerald City Spectrum after a spring football scrimmage at Husky Stadium on Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Aaron Coe, Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]
SEATTLE, Wash. — Carver Willis remembers feeling like the little guy, when the offensive lineman stepped on to a college football practice field in 2020 for the first time at 255 pounds.
He’s almost 40 pounds heavier and now a senior transfer left tackle for the Washington Huskies football team, but he still feels like the little guy. Though it remains to be seen how much, if at all, they’ll play this season, some big true freshman saw time with the first-team offensive line on Saturday, including Champ Taulealea — listed on the Washington roster at 6-5, 330 pounds — and John Mills (6-6, 320).
“We had four early enrollees and three of them were above 360 when they got here,” said Willis after Saturday’s ninth spring practice, which featured a large amount of goal-line and red-zone plays on a day of mostly scrimmaging. “That’s pretty nuts. Mills, Champ and Shaffe (Jack Shaffer) were all 350-360 when they got there. They’re leaning up and kind of trimming the baby fat. But, no, let’s not get it wrong, boys, those are just massive men.”
Those massive young men may need to wait their turn, however. Things can change before the Huskies host Colorado State on Aug. 30, but it appears the Huskies have found their starting offensive line combination. Here are the five who have received the majority of first-team reps for at least the past two weeks:
Left tackle, Carver Willis (6-5, 291): The fifth-year senior started the past two seasons at right tackle for Kansas State before coming to Washington through the transfer portal. He’s been playing almost exclusively on the left side so far in Huskies spring ball.
Left guard, Paki Finau (6-5, 310): The prized redshirt freshman out of Oak Hills (Calif.) saw acton in four games last season.
Center, Landen Hatchett (6-2, 315): The sophomore started six games last year at all three interior spots after recovering from a knee injury.
Right guard, Geirean Hatchett (6-4, 306): The elder Hatchett started on the 2023 Huskies’ Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line and played at Oklahoma in 2024. He’s back and appears slated to start at right guard.
Right Tackle, Drew Azzopardi (6-7, 315): The junior started all 13 games at right tackle for UW after transferring from San Diego State.
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Washington Huskies center Landen Hatchett speaks with the Emerald City Spectrum after a spring football scrimmage at Husky Stadium on Saturday, April 19, 2025. Credit: Aaron Coe, Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]
Though the smallest of the likely starters, Willis brings stability and experience to a youthful offensive line group that was at times overwhelmed against top opponents last season.
“He comes with a wealth of knowledge in terms of playing experience and what he’s able to do, what he’s able to talk to those guys in the room about,” said first-year offensive line coach Switzer, who was noncommittal about his starting five after Saturday’s scrimmage at Husky Stadium.”He has a practice mindset where he’s going, and the way he attacks is what I want. It’s a good picture for a lot of guys in the room.”
The size of the incoming class shows the desire of head coach Jedd Fisch and Switzer to go bigger for Big Ten competition. Though they plan to settle on a starting five, the large youngsters, they hope, will be ready to go if needed this fall.
“Yeah, big crew,” Switzer said. “Some of those guys in this freshman class who just came in at mid-year, those are the guys who bring a lot of size. … That big line needs to move and run, and run off the ball. But, big guys — trying to get them with the mentality in terms of running off the ball with physicality.”
Landen Hatchett, who was mostly an observer last spring while recovering from injury, sees quite a difference from 2024, when the Huskies didn’t have enough healthy linemen to run first and second teams for much of the spring, and three eventual starters were not even on campus yet.
“We got 18 guys, so we’re able to get everyone rotations,” he said. “I think we’re having a great start to the spring so far. We’re all buying in for sure, and we’re coming really close together as a group.”
Fisch likes what he’s seen from that group so far.
“We got 10 solid guys that could start, you know, and now they’re just competing — it’s kind of fun to see,” he said.
Defense Wins… Spring Practices
The defense seemed to get the better of the offense on Saturday, especially along the front. As the offensive line continues to gel, the defensive line got into the backfield to stuff some running plays. Junior edge Jacob Lane, in particular, caused issues for the offense. The defense stealing the show was not a surprise for Fisch.
“I’ve always felt like if your offense is ahead of your defense in spring, you’re not going to have a very good defense,” Fisch said, “and you’re probably not going to have a very good team.”
The defense beat the offense 5-3 during eight all-or-nothing plays from the two-yard line. Quarterback Demond Williams Jr. found Decker DeGraaf, Chris Lawson, and Kevin Green Jr. for touchdowns, but the defense stuffed Adam Mohommed and Jordan Washington on running plays and shut down three passing attempts.
During other portions of full scrimmage plays, Rashid Williams made a diving catch to haul in a pass of just under 40 yards from Williams to set up a 17-yard catch by slot receiver Audric Harris two plays later. Jonah Coleman pulled in a one-handed touchdown pass during a red zone session and also ran untouched for a 16-yard touchdown.
Caleb Presley Enters Portal
As reported by Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, former Rainier Beach star cornerback Caleb Presley has entered the transfer portal and is no longer listed on the Huskies’ online roster. The four-star recruit appeared to be slated for second-team duty this season. Presley, a redshirt sophomore, flipped to Washington after originally committing to Oregon.
“I don’t really want to talk about who’s in the portal,” Fisch said. “We wish Caleb the best. I think it was just a decision that he felt was best for him and his future.”
Huskies land Class of 2026 QB
Fisch appears to have found his 2026 recruiting class quarterback in his home state. Rated a four-star recruit, Derek Zammit from Wayne, NJ chose Washington over schools including Alabama, Syracuse, and Mississippi State, according to Hayes Fawcett of on3.com. Though Fisch, a New Jersey native, is unable to address specific recruits, he seemed pleased.
“I love when people want to become Huskies,” Fisch said. “And it sounds like more and more people want to become Huskies, and that’s a fantastic thing for all of us.”
