Nation’s No. 1 ATH Darnell Washington places UGA in his top 3
Darnell Washington is just different.
He’s about a half-inch shy of the 6-foot-8 mark. The 5-star weighs 261 pounds and plays everywhere from tight end to wide receiver to defensive tackle for his Desert Pines team.
The nation’s No. 1 ATH and No. 12 overall recruit (247Sports Composite ratings) also has whittled down his top schools list down from a racked stack of cordwood.
Washington is down to three schools: Georgia. Miami. Tennessee.
The highly-sought TE prospect for Georgia assistant coach Todd Hartley in the 2020 class shared that news on Monday evening via his Instagram account.
That information included the disclaimer that those were shared in no order. (UPDATE: Washington later went on his Instagram feed to also share that Alabama and Penn State were still in it.)
Look for Washington to take his vital official visit to UGA for the Notre Dame game on Sept. 21. He’s one of three priority targets for the Bulldogs at that position for Hartley’s room in 2020 along with 5-star Arik Gilbert and 4-star Canadian standout Theo Johnson.
Washington was also back at UGA in late July for the cookout weekend which fell between dead periods. DawgNation has been able to track that the trip was another highly enjoyable time in Athens for Washington.
He was also a consistent visitor to the program during the spring. The Bulldogs were already establishing himself back then as a program to watch in his recruitment.
RELATED: Why Darnell Washington has emerged as a priority target for the Bulldogs in 2020
What Darnell Washington did this summer out in Texas at his Opening testing shows what he can bring to any of those three programs.
All of this from TE Darnell Washington (@_Dwfootball11) at 6-7.5, 261 ..
40 • 4.75
SH • 4.50
VJ • 31.3”
PB • 51’
RATING • 114.24 pic.twitter.com/0MOv1IbXh3— Ronny Torres (@RonnyTorresSS) July 16, 2019
What Darnell Washington can really do on the film
Players make plays. He is so skilled that he is known as “Lethal Nell” around the Desert Pines program.
What is the biggest one so far from all that height and weight and athleticism and length made so far?
It was not a big ball he snared racing past a safety from the tight end spot.
The tape on this young man serves as a fitting reflection of his skill set.
Nor was it one he authored as a defensive end. (But those are why he’s labeled a 5-star ATH on the 247Sports Composite industry standard.)
Washington did not even go “Lethal Nell” from the linebacker spot. (But that is where he will likely see a lot of new reps in 2019.)
It was what he did when he lined up as a “3-tech” defensive tackle.
He’s that big and that long and that fast and came up with a “Rewind that” from the interior of the defensive line.
“It was against Arbor View,” Desert Pines assistant coach David Hill said. “We were playing a game and he was playing D-tackle.”
“He batted the ball with his right hand and popped it up in the air and caught it with his left [hand] and started running and all the kids piled on him, he pitched it to his teammate and he scored a touchdown.”
Can’t teach or coach that. This is the sort of athlete who can even crush a golf ball 300 yards.
“That’s probably the most athletic thing I have seen him do,” Hill said while recalling that play.
Check his reel below. Feel free to skip to the fourth play if you can’t wait to see that one.
