Geirean Hatchett on Washington's coaching change, his transfer to Oklahoma and more

The fifth-year offensive lineman announced his transfer on Monday. He opens up on the decision here.

Photo courtesy of UW Football.

Geirean Hatchett grew up in Ferndale, Wash., where he became a four-star offensive line recruit in the 2020 class. Scholarship offers arrived from all corners of the Power 5, but Hatchett eventually chose to stay close to home, signing his letter of intent with the Washington Huskies in what turned out to be coach Chris Petersen’s final recruiting class. His younger brother, Landen, signed with coach Kalen DeBoer in 2023. The two shared the field more than once last season. Eventually, they might have become mainstays together on the Huskies’ offensive line — Landen at center and Geirean at guard — though both have practiced at and played multiple positions.

But DeBoer’s departure for Alabama sent both brothers into the portal, and that is where they went their separate ways. Landen indicated via a Sunday tweet that he plans to stay at Washington, after all; Geirean bid UW farewell last week, and officially announced on Monday that he will transfer to Oklahoma, the school that first offered him as a high-school recruit.

I caught up with Geirean on Monday afternoon. He’s scheduled to board a flight to Oklahoma City on Tuesday morning, and will enroll at OU this week, though he said he’ll continue online classes at UW and graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science with a major in Real Estate.

The elder Hatchett will be a fifth-year junior in 2024, with eligibility through the 2025 season. His departure means UW is losing its top six offensive linemen, in terms of snaps played, from the Joe Moore-award winning 2023 unit; tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten entered the NFL Draft, center Parker Brailsford transferred to Alabama, and guards Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow transferred to Mississippi. Geirean appeared in 12 games with four starts for the Huskies in 2023, functioning for much of the season as UW’s first lineman off the bench, and projected as a near-certain starter in 2024.

What went into his decision to continue his career elsewhere? What were his emotions around DeBoer’s exit? His impressions of new coach Jedd Fisch? Which young UW linemen should fans be excited about? We discussed that and much more. Questions and responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Could you describe that week of the national championship, Monday through Friday, as you start to hear rumors about Coach DeBoer and Alabama, and then he’s gone and Jedd Fisch is hired?