L'Damian Washington: Who is the new Oklahoma wide receiver coach

Late on Sunday night, college football was struck with the sudden resignation of now former Oklahoma Sooners wide receivers coach Cale Gundy. L’Damian Washington now takes over in place of Gundy.

Shortly after the news of Gundy’s resignation, first-year Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables released a statement in which he announced who would be filling the position. Washington will take over Oklahoma’s wide receiver group, serving in an interim basis.

During his playing career, Washington played at Missouri as a wide receiver before turning to the professional ranks. In four years at Missouri, Washington totaled 100 receptions for 1,735 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging 17.4 yards per carry. His most productive season came as a senior in 2013, where he had 50 catches for 893 yards and ten touchdowns.

Washington went undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft, and he then bounced around the league for a few years. He was originally signed by the Dallas Cowboys, and went on to spend time – mainly on practice squads – in San Francisco, New York, Cleveland, Miami, Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

In 2016, Washington made the jump to the CFL, where he played for a couple of years before eventually making appearances in the Alliance of American Football and the XFL in future seasons.

Washington joined Oklahoma’s coaching staff in January

Following the conclusion of his playing career, Washington was hired as the head coach at West Middle School in Missouri. He served in that role during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

In January of 2022, Oklahoma brought in Washington and hired him as an offensive analyst and assistant wide receivers coach. And with Gundy’s departure, Washington now has an opportunity to lead the position, at least on the interim basis.

“L’Damian Washington, who has been serving as an offensive analyst for our program, will coach our wide receivers on an interim basis,” Venables announced in a statement.

Gundy previously spent over two decades as an assistant in Norman. He resigned after what he described has him saying “one particular word” during a moment between him and a player during a meeting. Gundy said that he was “horrified” with himself, but eventually made the decision to step away from the team.

Following the shocking news, multiple former Oklahoma players and coaches have spoken out in support of Gundy. Longtime Sooners coach Bob Stoops shared a statement on Monday, and NFL running back Joe Mixon expressed his strong support as well.

Oklahoma is set to open its season at home on Saturday, September 3 against UTEP.