Darnell Washington, Georgia tight ends only touching surface of potential
Coming out of high school, Darnell Washington was known around the nation for his incredible size at the tight end position. At 6-foot-7, 270 pounds, it was inevitable that one of his high school highlights would pop up on your Instagram feed at some point of Friday night. It was not until he arrived in Georgia though that people were able to see how Washington carried the weight like a running back, being able to juke, spin, and hurdle himself out of tackles.
While Washington’s four receptions for 66 yards over his first two games is an impressive start to the 2022 season, the tight end does not get nearly enough credit for the contribution that he has in the Georgia offense.
“I’ve seen through camp an extremely physical blocker,” Kirby Smart explained. “Now, he hasn’t really gotten to display that much. He got to display that a little more today, but he hasn’t really gotten to showcase that talent. He’s a really good, physical blocker and a really big target.”
During the 2021 season, Washington dealt with injuries that kept him out of several contests, including the Bulldogs’ season opener against the Clemson Tigers. Despite his limited appearances, the tight end from Las Vegas, Nev. caught 10 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown.
Coming into the season, Washington was known as just one of Georgia’s tight ends in a dominant position group. However, with the Bulldogs’ SEC schedule beginning next week, Kirby Smart is expecting Washington and the rest of the tight ends to take another step.
“He’s practiced really well,” Smart said about Washington. “He’s done a good job. I continue to say, offensively we’ve got to be in great shape, we’ve got to be in conditioning shape because we’ve got to be able to play with tempo and do things. Darnell has done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s practiced really hard, he’s played really hard, he’s maintained his weight at the right level, and he’s getting rewarded for it by getting some catches, some touches, and also being really physical.”
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After the game, Washington explained that for him, getting consistently hit on the football field is not a punishment, it’s a perk.
“I try to be as physical as I can be,” Washington explained. “Honestly, just be able to hit someone. Just physicality. If it’s a screen play where I got to go and hit the corner, a power play where I gotta go and fit up on the defensive end or outside linebacker, or even being tackled. Just being hit or doing the hitting.”
Moving forward, the Bulldogs are going to need to rely on their playmakers, which means that Washington has the opportunity to take another huge step forward in his career at Georgia.
“We have a good system that allows us to put people in places to say, ‘Is he a give-the-ball-to guy?’ ‘Cause you better know who those guys are when you play elite opponents,” Washington said. “Some teams will take those get-the-ball players away from you. Then you get narrowed down who to touch the ball. And ultimately football comes down to who can win one-on-one, and we’ve got to figure that out.”
