Blue White Illustrated

ack on National Signing Day, a poll ap- peared on Twitter asking Penn State fans which Class of 2020 prospect they were most excited about. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs, the highest-ranked player in the class, earned quite a few votes, as did tight end Theo Johnson. Wide re- ceiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith and run- ning back Caziah Holmes also earned their fair share. But when the votes were all tallied up, it was wide receiver Parker Washington who had won the poll. Those results shouldn't have come as any surprise. While the Texas prospect may not have earned as many o;ers as some others or had the most stars, there's no question which 2020 signee had the most exciting highlight 9lm. The 9rst 30 seconds of the 9lm make that clear. In only the second game of the season a year ago, Washington found himself trending on Twitter when a highlight clip of his spinning, one-handed catch for a touchdown against Richmond Foster made the rounds. He did it again six weeks later. The second catch was nearly identical to Odell Beckham's one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys in 2015, as Washington jumped up in the air, reached back, and pulled the ball in one- handed, completing the catch. Once again, he found himself trending on social media. "We knew fairly early on that Parker was going to be a special player," Fort Bend Travis head coach Trey Sissom said. "He played a little bit for us as a freshman and really showed us then that he was a dependable player. Unfortunately, he ended up missing his sophomore season with one of those nagging injuries that just didn't go away. … But coming into his junior season, he'd do something special on the practice 9eld every day. He was al- ways making catches that most players his age don't make. "It's funny, because Parker is actually built more like a running back than a re- ceiver, but when you see what he's able to do when the ball is in the air, it makes it easy for someone like myself to play him out wide. Anyone who has seen his high- light 9lm understands what I mean. He just has that :air that allows him to make so many special plays." Washington came back onto the scene in 2018 with his best high school season, totaling 75 receptions, 1,486 yards and 18 touchdowns. By the end of the season, he already held a handful of scholarship of- fers from schools like Duke, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky. That count nearly tripled in the spring and summer of 2019 once schools began to learn more about Washington o; the 9eld. "I think my favorite thing about Parker is that he's more mature than you would ever imagine for a kid his age," Sissom said. "In terms of how he is on the prac- tice 9eld or in the locker room, the day- to-day work that he puts in, the e;ort that he puts in, it's impressive. Not to mention, he's an incredible athlete, too. Parker is just the ultimate competitor. "But o; the 9eld, you're not going to 9nd a better person. His parents have raised him very well. He's very humble and quiet. You'll rarely hear him in a meeting room. He's not one of those guys that's imposing. He lets his play and his performance on the 9eld or in the weight room, wherever it's at, dictate your im- pression of him. To me, that's one thing that really makes him special." During his junior season, Washington was part of a two-headed monster at Travis, playing alongside former four- star recruit and Under Armour All- America wide receiver Arjei Henderson. Having Henderson within the same pro- gram not only gave Washington someone to push himself against, but also helped him navigate the recruiting process once the time came. "I thought having Arjei a grade ahead of Parker was great for him," Sissom said. "It gave Parker a road map in some ways. He saw everything that was going on with Arjei and some of the other kids, and I think that helped him handle the recruit- ing process and everything that comes with that. Not to mention, having an- other really good receiver on the team just helped push him and made him better. I really enjoyed watching Parker grow into the player he became. "But also, on top of that, he has a great family around him, and they're very fa- miliar with college football. His father played football at Mississippi State, and Washington impresses as college debut nears | B CLICK HERE to see video of Washington in action. U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L THE WASHINGTON FILE STATS Totaled 49 catches for 829 yards and 14 TDs as a sen- ior at Travis High... Finished with 75 catches for 1,486 yards and 21 TDs as a junior... Had 427 receiving yards as a sophomore HONORS Named a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 29 wide receiver nationally and No. 22 prospect in Texas... Was a first-team AP All-State choice as a junior... Won first-team All-Greater Houston honors as a senior... Chosen to play in the Hall of Fame World Bowl

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