3 Under-the-Radar Veterans Who Could Define Washington's 2025 Season

Keep an eye on Zach Durfee, Dyson McCutcheon, and Landen Hatchett as the Washington Huskies prepare for their 2025 season.

Washington Huskies football fall camp is in full swing.

There will be an overload of college football preview content all over the internet this month.

For Huskies fans, this means reading about the building hype train for quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and analysis about how improved Washington will be in its second season in the Big Ten.

I’m interested in a few players who you may not be hearing a lot about at the moment. Here are three veterans (juniors and seniors) to watch as the Huskies prepare for their upcoming season.

Zach Durfee (Sr.) - Edge

Durfee is the prototypical highly-touted prospect who everyone thinks can be great, but has yet to show on the field that he is great. The 6-5, 256 lb senior Edge transferred into Washington during Kalen DeBoer’s tenure as head coach in 2023. He appeared in the 2023-24 Sugar Bowl after sitting out the entire 2023 regular season due to his eligibility waivers being denied.

In 2024, Durfee played in six games and started in three. Injuries caused him to play a short season, but he showed flashes of his potential during the Huskies’ non-conference slate, totaling five tackles and 1 TFL in the Apple Cup; five tackles and 2.5 sacks against Eastern Michigan; and three tackles and one pass breakup against Weber State.

The potential is there. At Sioux Falls in 2022, he totaled 11 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss in 11 games. Listed at 6-5, 256 lbs, camp watchers have noted that he looks the part as well. New Defensive Coordinator Ryan Walters is likely crossing his fingers, hoping Durfee can stay healthy this season and become a consistent contributor on defense.

Instead of a picture, here is a video of Durfee eating hot wings:

Dyson McCutcheon (Sr.) - Safety

The senior safety emerged last season, appearing in 12 of the team’s 13 games. He also appeared in seven of the team’s games during the magical 2023 run. Though his numbers from last season may not be that impressive (14 tackles, 2 pass deflections), McCutcheon’s career at Washington has been on an upward trend, both in terms of playing time and production.

Back in February, Christian Caple at

On Montlake

projected McCutcheon to be the team’s starting nickel with the caveat that another safety could potentially win the starting spot depending on how position battles play out at both the safety and nickel positions.

Depth chart projection: Early thoughts on Washington's new-look defense

McCutcheon will be trying to fend off redshirt freshman Rashawn Clark and sophomore Leroy Bryant for the starting Nickel spot. Regardless of whether he starts or not, I expect McCutcheon to see a lot of playing time given his experience.

Landen Hatchett (So.) - Offensive Line

Photo credit: @landenhatchett

This may be cheating the list by including Landen Hatchett in this post because Hatchett is listed as a sophomore on the team’s roster. However, Hatchett is entering his third season with the Huskies.

As a true freshman, Hatchett appeared in nine games for the 2023 Joe Moore-award-winning offensive line. Last season, Hatchett played every single one of the team’s games, starting in the last six of the team’s seven games. He earned the John P. Angel Offensive Lineman of the Year award at the team’s postseason banquet.

This season, Hatchett is projected to be the team’s starting center, though he did make starts at right guard for a few games in 2024. Like Durfee, Hatchett needs to stay healthy this coming season. He spent the first half of last season continuing to recover from a knee injury that he suffered in the Sugar Bowl as a true freshman.

If Washington’s offensive line improves from last season and is not the team’s glaring weakness, Hatchett’s performance at the starting center spot will likely be one of the reasons why.