Transfer Talk: What Oklahoma is Getting in OL Geirean Hatchett

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.

“You would have thought that maybe Geirean Hatchett would have been the starting center or starting guard last year, but he started the season as a reserve, and then when somebody got hurt, he started four games,” Raley said. “He’s definitely played. But he had a super star kind of a reputation, and he’s been just a good, solid player. And so when the season ended, he was a sub. He wasn’t a starting player.”

Hatchett’s career climb in 2023 did hit a snag in the Huskies’ labored 15-7 win over Arizona State. Hatchett posted a pass blocking grade of just 17.6 against the Sun Devils. This came a week after posted a 23.5 against Oregon. His run blocking (62.0 for the season) was fun, but his pass blocking — which also included grades like 80.0 and 79.6 and 75.3 earlier in the season — tailed off.

“The coaches, DeBoer and his assistant coaches, liked to say that he’s a fantastic run blocker but he got replaced because he broke down in his pass protection against Arizona State,” Raley said. “That’s why he ended the season as a sub.”

One career highlight was the game in East Lansing, when Hatchett came in to finish things at right guard and the coaching staff brought in a true freshman to play center — little brother Landen Hatchett.

“The other thing that’s interesting about his situation is he has a little brother who’s gonna be one of the best linemen that’s ever played at Washington,” Raley said. “His little brother came in last year at Washington and played nine games — and ruined his redshirt and did what we thought Geirean would do. But Geirean could still be a pretty good player.

“They’re probably tight, but when your little brother shows up and he might be better than you, that sometimes might be hard to handle.”

Raley said after another coaching change at Washington, 2024 may have just seemed like an ideal time for Hatchett to start fresh at the other school he had considered as a recruit.

“I think he needed to get out,” Raley said. “You know, he wants to be an NFL player, so he probably needed another high-profile program like an Oklahoma to make it clear that he’s an NFL candidate. Then, if it doesn’t work, then he’ll have showed it at two different places that it doesn’t work.

“I think there’s hope for him to be an NFL guy. He’s certainly had all this reputation and hoopla around him when he was coming out of high school.

“He’s really a smart guy. He’s not just some big, lunkhead lineman. He’s a really smart, introspective person to talk to. You’ll like him when you meet him.