As senior center Landen Hatchett continues to work his way back from a broken wrist, the Washington Huskies have found a new man in the middle. In his stead, Jedd Fisch and offensive line coach Michael Switzer have turned to Sam Houston State transfer Kolt Dieterich at the position. Even though the Huskies initially added him to the roster out of the transfer portal to compete with freshman Kodi Greene at left tackle, the former five-star cemented himself in the starting lineup with a strong showing at spring practice after Dieterich was unable to participate in the spring with an injury. That caused the Huskies to search for other ways to get the four-star transfer on the field, with center being the option that made the most sense following Zach Henning's transfer to Arizona and an arm injury to seventh-year Geirean Hatchett. Dieterich began snapping in the spring, and following a few botched snaps during Washington's first team drills on Sunday, he has asserted himself as the team's starting center for the time being.
"I just kind of woke up one morning and said to Switz, 'Why don't we just get Kolt snapping?'" Fisch said of placing the Sam Houston State transfer in the middle. "Now he's gotten himself to a spot where he's our starting center. And then when Landen gets back, now we've got opportunities to put Kolt really anywhere, but that kid is doing a phenomenal job." Even with a few botched snaps along the way, the Huskies have been very pleased with Dieterich's progress with the position change. "You got a fat guy right across the line of scrimmage from you, and he's about ready to knock you back," senior offensive analyst Matt Cavanaugh said of the difficulty of transitioning to center. "And then you're thinking about, 'Oh, I got to make a call,' and 'I got to tell the left guard to come with me,' or the right guard, and all of a sudden, the quarterback's giving you the cadence, and that snap's got to be perfect." "He did a great job in terms of attacking that," Switzer added, stating that Dieterich has moved ahead of sophomore Jake Flores on the depth chart. "He's done some really nice things for a guy that never played the position...He's doing some good things. Are there things we need to work on? Absolutely." This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Kolt Dieterich proving his versatility for Washington football