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Darnell Washington one of a kind tight end in way he 'displaces people'

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•09/22/22•

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Tony Walsh/UGA Sports Communications

Georgia tight end Darnell Washington was a five-star freak coming out of Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. Signing with UGA though, he admits he didn’t know what to expect. What’s happened since though has helped Washington become a one of a kind tight end in the eyes of Kirby Smart and many others across the country.

Standing at 6-foot-7, 270 pounds, Darnell Washington has always been big. Using his size to his advantage on the football field hasn’t always meant the same thing. In high school, Washington said that he never really was asked to block. But upon arriving in Athens, that’s been a big part of why he’s on the field.

“Coming in as a freshman, it’s not easy. When I came in, I mean, it was a news flash from high school to college,” Washington said. “It’s a big jump.”

“I came in with the mindset of a sponge,” Washington said. “I feel like most five-stars are big time athletes out of high school, but you should come in as a sponge. I came in knowing that Tre McKitty transferred from FSU, so honestly I didn’t think I would play like I did. But I just came in to learn a lot.”

Part of that learning process happened early. Other aspects have taken time. While Kirby Smart has credited Washington with making leaps from a maturity standpoint this offseason, Washington feels like he’s always been pretty mature.

“I feel like one thing that’s helped me improve (his maturity) was me having a family at a younger age than most people. I feel like I have to be mature in day to day life,” Washington said. “From a football aspect, it’s just going against older guys to mature. When we have practice, we have fun and things like that, but high school practice, you could go on the sideline and not pay attention, joke around. Here, you joke around on the sideline, Kirby’s going to get on you.”

Among those areas that Washington has grown the most since stepping foot on campus back in 2020 has been with his blocking. He said that when it first happened, there was a lot of joy. He saw one of the running backs score and knew that it wouldn’t have happened without his block. Since then though, it’s become natural.

“Darnell Washington, on one of the little crack screens we run, pins a guy,” Smart said after the game against South Carolina, speaking on Brock Bowers and his big day but also making sure to point out the fact that Washington helped make it possible. “The hole, guys, holes are created through displacement, not just blocking. Darnell displaces people. I think Brock would be the first one to tell you that his success comes from a lot of perimeter and things like that touches that other guys make great blocks for.”

“The combination of the athleticism and displacement, there are probably none. We had some guys when I was at Alabama, Michael Williams, that were big, more blocking guys, offensive tackle type guys. He has a receiving skillset that is unique, combined with that size,” Smart added on the uniqueness of Washington’s skillset. “The best thing about Darnell is that he has been working so hard. You see it usually in year three in guys where you go, ‘Wow, that guy has matured. That guy has practiced. That guy knows how to push himself’. And they start thinking if they go hard during the week, the game will be easy. I’ve seen more of that out of Darnell this year, and you are able to see that during the game. He doesn’t get tired, he pushes, and makes plays.”

Washington and Georgia take on Kent State this weekend, another opportunity for the junior tight end to showcase his skillset. Kickoff time is set for 12:00 p.m. ET from Sanford Stadium, streaming on SEC Network+.

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