Washington anchors defense

When Utah State football player Terrance Washington was in elementary school, he realized something that would affect the rest of his life – at least until college.

He liked to hit people.

When the Ogden native was in fourth grade, he said he started playing flag football, but it didn’t really do it for him.

“I actually started playing flag football in fourth grade, but I didn’t really like that a whole lot,” Washington, a safety for the Aggies, said. “You didn’t get to hit anybody.”

So, in fifth grade, Washington followed in his dad’s footsteps and put pads and a helmet on.

Washington’s dad, Darryl, played football and basketball at Fort Lewis College. Growing up, Washington said he was always around sports. So it seemed pretty natural when he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps and play football.

It also seems logical that he would want to play for the same reasons.

“He said he liked [football] because he liked to hit people,” Washington said. “He said if you’re on the street and you come up and hit somebody you’ll get thrown in jail for it. At least on a football field you won’t get thrown in jail for it and people praise you for hitting somebody real hard.”

Off the field, Washington said his dad has been a huge influence in other aspects of his life. Washington said his dad has taught him to have integrity and that “nobody can ever take your integrity from you,” he said.

Despite wanting him to wait until he got bigger before he played football, Washington said his dad has been behind his football career from the beginning.

“Sports-wise, he could teach you anything. He knows a lot about that kind of stuff,” Washington said.

Although he loves playing football, it hasn’t been all fun and games for Washington – especially last season.

He came into the season with high hopes and expectations. In 2003, his freshman year, Washington was named a second-team Freshman All-American by the College Football News and was ranked among the top 10 freshmen in the country in tackles per game. These came on top of other conference honors and being named Utah State’s outstanding freshman.

But after playing only two games in 2004, he went down with a season-ending injury.

“In the second game, an offensive lineman came out to block me,” he said. “While he was blocking me, my foot got caught in the turf and my knee just buckled underneath me and tore some ligaments and cartilage. It was hard.”

Not only was Washington out for the rest of the season, he missed the 2005 spring training. Although it was hard enough enough to watch the game from the sidelines for the season, it was made even harder because it was something he had seen before.

“It was the same thing that happened to me in high school so I kind of knew [what it would be like],” he said. “But it was harder this time.”

While a senior at Ben Lomond High School, Washington went down with the same injury.

Because of his injury, Washington wasn’t recruited by very many schools. After the University of Utah dropped out, Washington said Utah State was really the only school offering him a scholarship.

Fellow Ben Lomond alumni Emmitt White was playing at Utah State during Washinton’s senior year. White, who still holds the NCAA record for all-purpose yards, talked to the USU coaches and really pushed recruiting Washington. Something the Aggies didn’t regret.

Although Washington was hoping to get a football scholarship at an out-of-state college, he said he has liked Utah State and staying closer to his family.

“My favorite memory is probably the first time being out on the football field with my teammates,” Washington said. “Our first game was against Utah. Finally being out on a football field competing at a [Division-I] level. That was one of my main goals was to play D-I football or some D-I sport.”

During games, Washington anchors the defense. Something, he says, he does a “decent” job at. But his coaches say differently.

“Terrance is a great kid,” Jeff Copp, safeties and kickoff team coach, said. “He is a quiet leader and does a nice job of getting our defense set. He is a tremendously smart football player and a very heady player.”

Before the play starts, Washington said he is constantly talking to himself and thinking of what plays the opposition likes to run out of certain formations.

“I have to talk to myself to make sure I know what I’m doing,” he said. “A lot of guys probably do it, they need to. There’s a lot of things that you need to remember.”

But once the play starts, Washington said he is focused on the play.

Copp said Washington is one of the hardest workers he has.

“No matter what’s going on, he’s working,” Copp said.

Even when he’s not practicing or playing on the field, Washington is still playing football in his free time – if playing the video games NCAA or Madden football counts as “playing” football.

In the spring, Washington will graduate from Utah State with a degree in finance. After that, he doesn’t know what will happen.

“I used to [want to play football],” he said, “but I don’t think I’ve got the ability to do that anymore.

“I don’t think I really want to do that anymore. I think I’m almost done with playing football, I guess, because of my injuries and other things that come up.”

-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu