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DECEMBER 2023 21 BY SCOTT FITZGERALD I t's a new age of recruiting and Fralin Family Head Football Coach Tony Elliott found himself on a different campus recruiting one of the most productive and proven commodities in the transfer por- tal. All he could notice was the condition of the potential recruit's apartment. "It was immaculate," Elliott said. "So much so that when he came to my office I had to make sure that I cleaned up my desk." The first impression stuck with Elliott, who eventually landed Malik Washington, a 5-foot-8 slot receiver who had just racked up 109 receptions, 1,272 receiving yards and 3 touch- downs over the course of his final 24 games at Northwestern. The attention to detail that made a big impression on Elliott was just a small clue of what he was bringing to Charlottesville. "It's a lot of fun to coach Malik because you got a guy that's accomplished, that's had a lot of success, but he's eager to get bet- ter," Elliott said. "He wants to be coached. He wants you to challenge him on the details. He shows up every day has a good attitude, works hard and leads his teammates. If you're going to embody what you want a leader to be all about, this is a guy right here." Washington was crystal clear about his goals coming into his fifth year of college football and was not shy about sharing. He first outlined this team and personal goals in a notebook he car- ried with him. When asked about his personal goals, like everything, he was detailed. "I want to hit that landmark of 1,000 receiving yards, I think I'm very capable of it," Washington said on the "Wahoo Central Podcast" during train- ing camp in August. "I now have a real op- portunity to achieve that goal with Tony Muskett at quarterback and Anthony Colandrea as a backup. I'm chasing that mark at a minimum." Washington proved to be more than capa- ble. He blew past that minimum and has his name etched in the Virginia record books as the program's single-season receptions (110) and yards leader (1,426). In the process, he burst onto the national scene and is among 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, annually given to the top FBS receiver in the country. He was a three-time ACC Receiver of the Week and was named to the Pro Football Focus Midseason All-America second team. In early August the question was, is the lofty goal that Washington set for himself realistic? History says it would be a tall task. Prior to this season, only five wide receivers ever to don a Virginia uniform had reached the 1,000-yard plateau. Perhaps the most important driver of the potential wide receiver's success is the guy getting him the ball. The departures of UVA's all-time leading passer Brennan Armstrong along with two-sport athlete Jay Woolfolk, who chose to focus his talents on the baseball diamond, left UVA without a quarterback who had attempted a pass on the FBS level in its quarterback room. So what did Washington know that every- one else didn't? When you dig a little deeper, coming to UVA as a wide receiver has its benefits. Starting from the top, Elliott was a wide re- ceiver in college and has a soft spot for the position, according to Washington. Offensive coordinator Des Kitchings played wide re- ceiver at Furman and ranks among the pro- gram's all-time leaders in receptions. When Washington first arrived in January 2023, beloved Cavalier quarterback/wide receiver Marques Hagans served as his lead recruiter. Hagans had recently tutored the top wide receiving duo in the program's history in Dontayvion Wicks and Keytaon Thompson in 2021. Adam Mims, the current receivers coach and an analyst at the time Washington was considering UVA, was at the top of all of Furman's receiving records before playing professionally. Special teams coordinator Keith Gaither came to UVA after coaching wideouts at Army, Western Michigan and Ball State. From a development standpoint, what else can a wide receiver with professional aspirations want? The blueprint for success was there. The familiarity with three fellow Georgians — Jared Rayman, former Parkview High School teammate Cody Brown and Kitchings, who also spent some time recruit- ing Washington out of high school — helped make UVA a pretty easy sell. And don't forget the educational com- ponent for Washington. His mother, a schoolteacher, helped instill the importance of academics. After graduating from North- western in three and a half years with a de- gree in psychology as well as collecting an organizational leadership certificate, Wash- ington needed a place where he could also develop in the classroom. At Northwestern, he was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and was Big Ten Distinguished Scholar during the 2021-22 school year. "You talk about the undeniable education I get from the University of Virginia," Wash- ington said. "If you look at my résumé and you see Northwestern University paired with the University of Virginia degree, it's hard to turn that down." Under Elliott's vision for the model college football program, aca- demics is a fundamen- tal principle, and that's on full display. Football student-athletes who are high achievers in the classroom are given UVA Nike pullovers with their grade-point average on the sleeve. Washington, who enrolled at UVA in January 2023 and is pursuing his master's de- gree in higher education, can be seen walking around Grounds with a 4.0 on his sleeve. Washington has put some mind-boggling numbers together on the gridiron as well. He MAN WITH A PLAN MAN WITH A PLAN Malik Washington Set And Then Reached Some Lofty Goals This Season " It was attacking each day with a purpose, attacking each day with everything I had in me to be a better football player, a better person, and I knew if I kept doing that those numbers would come. WASHINGTON