With thirty minutes of practice remaining Friday afternoon, the University of Washington football players gathered at one end of the field for a final round of controlled scrimmages.
On an occasion like this, coach Jedd Fisch usually makes sure the music is turned up extra loud, either to simulate the noise of the crowd or to energize his heated and tired players for a strong finish, or both.
In this case, it was Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” a headbangers’ rhapsody pulsing from sideline speakers and perhaps cracking windows throughout Montlake, which seemed the most appropriate choice.
Durfee and Hatchett came into play for the Huskies.
Two of UW’s most important players – junior edge rusher Zach Durfee and sophomore center Landen Hatchett – took part in full-contact action for the first time during Fall Practice No. 8, providing a significant boost in talent in one fell swoop.
Each of the players has undergone surgery and subsequent rehab in the past eight months. Durfee was dealing with an elbow injured in spring ball and Hatchett was dealing with a knee torn during Sugar Bowl practice in December.
They were dressed for the first seven fall training sessions but were not allowed to participate in physical contact drills until Friday.
“Great, great, it was great to see them back,” junior safety Makell Esteen said. “Durfee and Landen have recovered from their injuries and I think it was great to see them back and see them participating in practice again.”
Durfee was the first of the two veteran and returning Husky players to take the field, entering the No. 1 defense in the closing stages of the first series and immediately showed why two UW coaches thought so highly of him.
The 6’5″ and 255-pound defender turned, kept pace with speedy running back Jonah Coleman, and intercepted a pass intended for him from Will Rogers about 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Bill and Steve Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach and the UW defensive coordinator, watched the action from 30 yards behind the defense, each of them typically standing on a hashmark, and they had to be impressed with that side’s opening play.
Durfee’s teammates were overjoyed by his heroic act, and cornerback Thaddeus Dixon shouted his thanks as he ran all the way back to the huddle.
Durfee played in the Huskies’ defensive four-man line that also included Isaiah Ward, a sophomore who transferred from Arizona, at the other edge position and Sebastian Valdez, a senior who transferred from Montana State, and Jacob Bandes, a sixth-year sophomore who remains, at the tackle positions.
The 6-foot-2, 300-pound Hatchett entered the field on the No. 2 defense on the second series and was a regular sub in that unit after that, playing on a line alongside first- and second-year guards Paki Finau and Michael Levelle Watkins and third- and junior-year tackles Maximus McCree and Kahlee Tafai.
In this lineup, Hatchett was never on the field at the same time as Durfee. Instead, the long-haired player had good battles with Valdez, who he effectively got in the way of, and junior defensive tackle and JC transfer Bryce Butler, who the center was able to bend backwards a bit during a pocket protection block.
“Yeah, it was a great day,” Hatchett said on the way to the locker room. “I’m excited. I’m working my way back into it.”
The Huskies, who have their next practice Saturday night, have exactly three weeks to get Durfee and Hatchett ready to play and perhaps even compete in the season opener against Weber State.
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