Tahj Washington Has Breakout Performance in Tucson
Shortly prior to kickoff of their game against Arizona on Saturday, USC learned that they would be without their two leading receivers for the matchup. All-American Jordan Addison was unable to play due to the leg injury that he suffered two weeks prior against Utah, while Mario Williams was also ruled out with an undisclosed injury.
Fortunately for the Trojans, their wide receiver room is arguably the deepest in all of college football. So the question was never if someone was going to step up in the absences of Addison and Williams, but rather who that someone would be.
As it turns out, the answer to that question was Tahj Washington.
On Saturday afternoon in Tucson, the redshirt junior wide receiver caught seven passes for a USC career-high 118 yards. He also added two touchdown receptions, tripling his total number of trips to the end zone as a Trojan. (Washington actually caught a touchdown pass in his USC debut against San Jose State last season, before going a remarkable 18 consecutive games without a score.)
Tahj Washington’s Unique Path
Tahj Washington certainly had a unique path to USC. Originally an unheralded three-star recruit out of Marshall, Texas, Washington broke out at Memphis in 2020 earning Freshman All-American honors. The following offseason, he entered the NCAA Transfer Portal and subsequently transferred to USC.
Last season, Washington caught 54 passes for 602 yards and a touchdown. This past offseason, however, Lincoln Riley and the new coaching staff brought in a loaded group of new wide receivers, headlined by transfers Addison and Williams. Hence, questions arose as to how big of a role Washington would play in USC’s new offense.
Despite the enhanced competition around him, though, Washington never considered transferring a second time.
“It’s exciting,” Washington said back in August of USC’s loaded wide receiver room. “We’re all competitors. We like to compete, so I feel like that will work out the best for us.”
“[I was locked in] from day one. I came here to win. That’s what it’s about at the end of the day. You can’t consider yourself a competitor if you leave for something outside of that.”
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On Saturday, Washington’s persistence finally paid off, as he stepped up when USC needed him and helped lead the Trojans to a 45-37 victory over Arizona.
Lincoln Riley’s High Praise for Washington
During his weekly appearance on the Trojans Live show Monday night, Riley was asked about Washington’s impressive performance. USC’s head coach had extremely high praise for the wide receiver.
“He’s been playing his tail off and got a few more opportunities, and continues to be one of the most valuable players on this football team,” Riley said. “We have a lot of confidence in that kid that whatever job it is. And you name it.”
“He’s got about 50 different job on this team, it feels like. He’s good at all of them and he’s extremely reliable. I think more and more he’s a guy that we’re wanting to get involved because again, he is so reliable and so tough.”
Washington will look to build off of his breakout performance when the Trojans host Cal this Saturday night at the Coliseum.
