Bill Bedenbaugh values versatility. In this era of the transfer portal, it’s more important than ever.
That’s why Washington offensive guard Geirean Hatchett was such a priority for Bedenbaugh and Oklahoma — he can literally play all five positions, and then some.
“He’s an interesting guy,” said Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies. “Can play any position up front. And he’s the only guy that could really do that. In (coach Kalen) DeBoer’s first season (2022), they got short at tight ends, so they put Geirean in as a blocking tight end in a couple of games — and were prepared to throw it to him if they had to. He’s 6-foot-4, 300 pounds.”
Hatchett was the fourth o-lineman added to the Sooners’ 2024 transfer class, joining North Texas’ Febechi Nwaiwu, Michigan State’s Spencer Brown and Florida/USC’s Michael Tarquin.
Hatchett is in class and working out now at OU, but joined later than the others because the transfer portal opened for 30 days after DeBoer left to replace Nick Saban at Alabama.
These days, the portal opens in big waves, then small ones, and a nimble offensive line coach like Bedenbaugh has to stay ready.
With Hatchett, Bedenbaugh was just that.
“When he was a recruit, everybody wanted him,” Raley told AllSooners. “We’re talking Oklahoma, Ohio State, Alabama. Every big school in the country wanted him.”
That was when Hatchett was a 4-star prospect from Ferndale, WA — that’s just 14 miles from the Canadian border — and he was the No. 8 guard in the nation, according to 247 Sports and the No. 212 overall prospect in the class of 2020. He chose Washington over OU.
Those credentials led just about everyone to believe Hatchett was an immediate plug-and-play offensive lineman. But he wasn’t. Instead, he didn’t even see the field in his first two years in Seattle.
“You assume (high-profile recruits are) gonna come in on a real fast track and take a spot and excel,” Raley said. “Well, Geirean, who’s a real smart guy and a real good athlete, didn’t do that. He didn’t play the first two years. One was COVID. But the second was just a developmental year for him.”
Then in 2022 — DeBoer’s first at UW — Hatchett finally got some snaps.
One hundred and one, to be exact: 58 across four games on the offensive line, 13 as a jumbo tight end, 25 on punt coverage, three on kickoff return and two on placekicks.
This past season, as the Huskies raced to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game and the offensive line won the Joe Moore Award as the best offensive line in the nation, it appeared that Hatchett could be primed for a breakout season.
Hatchett opened his best season yet as a rotational player off the bench during non-conference play, then found himself in the starting lineup for the first time as the Huskies began Pac-12 action.
Hatchett got 33 snaps as a backup at right guard in a win at Michigan State, then started four games in a row against Cal, Arizona, Oregon and Arizona State — but then lost his starting job, sustained an ankle injury and didn’t play on offense again until the playoff victory over Texas.
He finished the season with 264 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, and posted a PFF offensive grade of 59.8. He also logged 86 special teams snaps as he played in 12 games in all — including both CFP games, the Pac-12 title game win over Oregon, and late-season wins over Washington State and Stanford.
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