Bill Bedenbaugh is a fan of flexibility. It’s more crucial than ever in the transfer portal era.
Because he can genuinely play all five positions and more, Bedenbaugh and Oklahoma placed a high value on Washington offensive guard Geirean Hatchett.
Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies stated of him, “He’s an interesting guy.” “Able to play any upfront position. He is the only man who is truly capable of doing it. They were low on tight ends in (coach Kalen) DeBoer’s debut season (2022), thus in a few games, they used Geirean as a blocking tight end and were ready to throw it to him if necessary. 300 pounds and 6 feet 4 inches tall.
With Hatchett joining North Texas’ Febechi Nwaiwu, Michigan State’s Spencer Brown, and Florida/USC’s Michael Tarquin, the Sooners’ 2024 transfer class now has four o-linemen.
Hatchett is enrolled in classes and working out at OU right now, but he arrived later than the others because the transfer portal was only open for 30 days following DeBoer’s departure to take over as Alabama’s head coach.
Modern times see the gateway opening in large waves followed by smaller ones, thus Bedenbaugh, as a quick-witted offensive line coach, must be prepared.
Bedenbaugh was that with Hatchett.
Raley said to AllSooners, “Everyone wanted him when he was a recruit.” We are discussing Alabama, Oklahoma, and Ohio State. All of the nation’s elite universities desired him.
Hatchett was a 4-star recruit back then, hailing from Ferndale, Washington, which is only 14 miles from the Canadian border. 247 Sports ranked him as the nation’s No. 8 guard and the No. 212 overall talent in the class of 2020. Washington was his choice over OU.
Most people assumed Hatchett was an instantaneous plug-and-play offensive lineman because of his qualifications. He wasn’t, though. Instead, throughout his first two years in Seattle, he didn’t even visit the field.
According to Raley, “you assume (high-profile recruits) going to come in on a real fast track, take a spot and excel.” “Well, that wasn’t done by Gearlean, who is a really intelligent and athletic guy. For the first two years, he didn’t play. COVID was one. However, the second year was only a year of growth for him.
Then, in 2022, Hatchett finally received some snaps—DeBoer’s first year at UW.
Specifically, one hundred and one: 58 on the offensive line throughout four games, 13 as a jumbo tight end, 25 on punt coverage, 3 on kickoff returns, and 2 on placekicks.
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