Washington's 38-26 win over Purdue proved to be a major step in the right direction for many members of Jedd Fisch's offense. Among them was center Landen Hatchett, who made his second start of the season after missing the first five games due to a wrist injury.
Despite entering the season with sky-high expectations, the unit has struggled, in part due to the growing pains of young starters and a lack of on-field cohesiveness. After facing heavy criticism for their collective performances throughout the first half of the season, the boys up front turned things around last week in West Lafayette, led by the fourth-year. On Monday, Jedd Fisch had high praise for the anchor of his offensive line.
"I thought Landen did a great job making all the calls
for us," he said. "He did a great job of keeping the group together, confidence, did a really good job blocking, shade, and on top of that, you just felt his leadership on the field, you felt his leadership on the bench, you felt his leadership all week long, challenging the boys, challenging me, challenging the group of 'Hey coach, we can do this, believe in us, believe in this group, and just continue to give us this opportunity.' And he was a tremendous advocate for his offensive group and for the running game."
After a shaky return to action against Iowa, Hatchett looked much more comfortable against the Boilermakers. Just a week after posting a Pro Football Focus grade of 56.4 against the Hawkeyes, the team captain received a grade of 61.5 against Purdue, playing every snap for Washington in their best performance in Big Ten play thus far.
With their backs against the wall entering the Week Seven showdown, the Huskies' offense delivered, led by backup quarterback Elijah Brown. While the second-string signal caller had an impressive showing of his own, the matchup in West Lafayette marked a coming-out party for the running game. Led by sixth-year transfer Trey Cooley, who took eight carries for a career-high 113 yards, Washington posted a season-high 188 yards on the ground and hung 38 points on the scoreboard, good for the second-most this season and most against an FBS opponent.
Now enjoying the fruits of a much-needed bye week, the week off gives Hatchett and his peers up front the chance to continue to build off of last week's showing. Next, the Huskies will head east again to take on Nebraska on Halloween, where they'll once again lean on their leader to help guide them to a second consecutive road victory.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Jedd Fisch Praises Landen Hatchett's Leadership for Washington
