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Geirean Hatchett was just being a loyal foot soldier for the University of Washington football team, filling in as the No.
1 center for his injured brother Landen, when he suffered what appeared to be an elbow issue that ended his spring.
The seventh-year senior from Ferndale, Washington, lasted not quite two practices before he was led away by trainers.
Thereafter he showed up in sweats and with a heavy black brace covering the damaged joint, and watched as everyone played on without him.
Even more unfair, this Hatchett had his regular starting position at right offensive guard given to someone else in redshirt freshman Champ Taulealea, who settled in and took over for all 15 spring practices.
So what next? "The Geirean and Champ competition is fantastic that will happen," UW coach Jedd Fisch said, staying neutral.
This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.
This could have been so much easier for the 6-foot-4, 306-pound Hatchett had he just been able to reclaim his guard spot and make Taulealea work to take it from him rather than simply hand it over to him.
While no one on the team is exempt from dealing with competition at any time, it helps to be able to protect what originally was yours.
Hatchett is one of four returning starters with an added footnote -- he's the only one who started all 13 games in 2025.
While he has solid Husky credentials, he still has to fend off the well-regarded Taulealea, who is eager to become a pillar up front.
Like a corporate work force, and no one is ever going to admit to this, age can play a decided factor in Husky personnel decisions.
Ask Will Rogers about that.
He started 40 games at quarterback for Mississippi State, transferred to the UW and started 11 more in 2024, only to get benched for the final two outings of his college career in order get the much younger Demond Williams Jr.
on the field.
So if Hatchett and Taulealea are close in the coming competition, no matter what Geirean has accomplished before, youth could prevail in the end.
Football has never been overly fair at times.
What he's done: Hatchett is the Huskies' last remaining player on the roster from the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
In his career, he's played in 42 games at the UW and Oklahoma, and started 18 times.
He can play anywhere up front, including as a blocking tight end, which he did in 2022.
Starter or not: He opened four games at right guard for the 2023 Husky team that advanced to the national championship game against Michigan, another game at guard for Oklahoma in 2024 before suffering a season-ending biceps injury and all 13 last years after transferring back to the UW.
He's battle-tested.
Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer.
His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time.
In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S.
Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.