Maryland freshman quarterback Malik Washington is excited for his future career in college, with the spring game in College Park on April 26 marking his first step.
Washington won three MIAA A Conference championships at Archbishop Spalding in Severn. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound quarterback threw for 2,095 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior for the Cavaliers. Washington decided to enroll at Maryland this spring.
“It’s been great,” Washington said on Glenn Clark Radio April 22. “Getting here early has just helped me grow, not just as a football player but also as a man. Just getting here with guys that are more experienced and more mature that can teach you some different ways of life that you might not have looked at before. Getting up here has been a blessing.”
While others are spending their last few days of adolescence getting ready for prom or counting down the days until summer break, Washington wanted to find his voice on the Maryland football team.
“Just being around everybody, we’re all putting in the same work,” Washington said. “I think that comes with the level of respect that’s in each and every individual, no matter what your position is or where you stand on the depth chart just because I know that you put in the same amount of work that I put in to be here, so we all respect one another.”
Washington is competing for the starting quarterback position and trusts the process laid out by head coach Michael Locksley and the staff. His biggest competition for the spot is UCLA transfer Justyn Martin, who threw for 179 yards and one touchdown in 2024.
“I think Coach has done a great job of preparing not just me, but all the quarterbacks in the room. We all are in here — first ones in, last ones out,” Washington said. “He’s done an amazing job getting us ready so that when that time comes whoever it is who steps in will be ready for it, no matter who it is. … All the quarterbacks in the room, we’re like the best of friends because we’re spending so much time together and we’re here hours on end.”
The starting quarterback will work with receivers like Oklahoma transfer Jalil Farooq and program veteran Octavian Smith Jr.
“All the receivers have been doing great. [Smith] has been making a bunch of plays all over the field. It’s his senior year. It’s time for him to step up, not only as a player but as a leader,” Washington said.
One goal Washington has in mind is to compete at the top of the Big Ten with teams like Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon. He wants to one day win a Big Ten championship.
“It comes with the position, really,” Washington said of wanting to lead Maryland to greater success. “For me, it’s never really too much pressure because at the end of the day, I know I’m going to give it everything I have and result will be the result. My family never puts any pressure on me to have to be the one to succeed or to make it or do anything like that, so I think that also helps just knowing that I can go out here and play the game I love and have fun with it.”
For more from Washington, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics