The Washington Huskies and new defensive coordinator Steve Belichick have to be happy with the current state of the linebacker position. With Carson Bruener as one of the team leaders and Alphonzo Tuputala as his running mate, the returning seniors from last year’s dominant team make the position one of the few spots where the Huskies have extensive experience coming into 2024.
However, this doesn’t mean that the coaching staff isn’t looking for ways to upgrade the future of the room. With recruiting efforts in full force, there will be a concerted effort to try to lock in as many visits as possible over the next few months. One of these visits is Las Vegas product and four-star linebacker Christian Thatcher.
Thatcher has garnered major interest from a bevy of programs. With a whopping 30 other offers on the table and three other visits lined up, the Huskies will be facing stiff competition for his services.
That said, the NFL pedigree of the Washington staff should be a major draw for many players, especially those on the defensive side of the ball. Belichick and linebackers coach Robert Bala likely have a plan for how to implement Thatcher into the defense, so selling him on that vision should be a large part of the recruiting pitch.
BIG HITS BIG PLAYS 327 career tackles. 13.6 tackles a game this season. 21.45 mph in game. Full season highlights here https://t.co/0VnAisDYSh@BrandonHuffman @BlairAngulo @adamgorney @ParkerThune @KyleMorgan_XOS @JosephAHastings @DemetricDWarren @CoachScooterAV @LBUTraining… pic.twitter.com/LnSsicQYTW
— Christian Thatcher (@ChristianThatc) November 1, 2023
At the high school level, Thatcher is a game-wrecker for his team’s defense. He can almost singlehandedly shut down the running game and force offenses to shift away from him. His lateral agility and closing speed allow him to get into the backfield and make tackles with ease.
To go along with these impressive traits, he absorbs contact and sorts through trash in the middle of the field effectively to stay involved in the play at all times. As he continues to mature and add weight to his frame, he should be able to play a MIKE linebacker role effectively and slide over to SAM if needed. His display of reps as a blitzer is an added bonus to his profile.
Diagnosing in coverage is one of the areas that Thatcher needs to improve on, most of his highlight plays comes as a run defender and he can easily get drawn into run action. Encouragingly, he is always around the ball which did lead to some impressive plays in those areas, offering hope that he will make strides in that area this season. Finding a balance between solidifying his frame and not sapping too much of his explosiveness will be important as well, as Thatcher adapts to a role at the college level.
Fisch’s staff would be extremely excited if it can to secure Thatcher’s services. Washington has some stiff competition to land his commitment, but an improvement on the defensive side of the ball in 2024 would go a long way to convincing Thatcher to make his way to Montlake.[lawrence-related id=2069]