Maryland football signee, QB Malik Washington named Maryland's Gatorade Player of the Year
- Ahmed Ghafir
- Dec 6, 2024
- 3 min read
Newly-minted Maryland signee Malik Washington has added another accolade to end his high school career after being named Maryland’s Gatorade Player of the Year on Friday. Washington becomes the first signee to win the award since 2020.
Washington, a 6-foot-4 pledge out of Glen Burnie, threw for over 2,000 yards and 24 total touchdowns to just four interceptions as a senior as the four-star quarterback became the first in MIAA history to win three consecutive conference titles. Washington threw for over 7,000 yards in his career to become the all-time passing leader in MIAA history, while finishing a perfect 25-0 in conference play.
The prized pledge committed to Maryland over Syracuse and Virginia Tech among others in late June as he quickly became a key piece in the Terps’ recruiting efforts the rest of the cycle, while schools like Michigan and Penn State worked to change his mind through his dominant senior season. Washington deflected interest from anyone not named Maryland, though, and instead returned for a trio of Maryland’s home games in 2024 before he officially enrolls in January 2025.
Defensive coordinator Brian Williams led the way as the regional recruiter where he quickly established close relationships at Spalding since arriving in 2019, while the presence and pursuit of Mike Locksley loomed large in Washington’s perception of the hometown program throughout his recruitment.
“Being able to go to the games and getting up on campus just made me feel like more of a fit. Talking to the coaches and players about the environment about gamedays, being able to see myself in their shoes definitely helped,” Washington said after his commitment. “Being able to have my mom around me, watch my little brother grow up, things like that. Just them being able to come to the games, come support definitely played a part.”
“He is so relatable,” head coach Mike Locksley said about his newly-signed quarterback. “I mean, he is one of those guys that can transcend. I mean, it'd be like, I'm a big music guy. So he's a guy that could be a hip hop artist, an R&B singer, a country singer. He can maybe even be one of those, what do you – folk song singers? I mean, Hootie and the Blowfish. This guy, you can't put him in a box, and that part of it, I mean, the intelligence he brings. I've recruited Malik since he was an eighth grader. I watched how he built this Spalding program with his head coach there and a lot like what we've had to do here at Maryland and it has not been easy. They have not always had all the built-in advantages that some of the other places that they would play had. And he never once wavered, man. And to me, this kid had – the sky is the limit for his talent level. He expects to come in, in the mail room and work his way up. He doesn't want it any other way. He wants to come in and learn and be a sponge. We spent every Sunday for the most part of this season where we’d watch his tape. He'd watch our games. Because after every game, when you got a guy like that committed, people would call and say, ‘Man, you don't want to go there. They suck. They're not this.’ And then he had a chance to watch every play. We didn't hide from what we put on tape and he had a chance to see and learn what this system is about or will and can be about. And I think that in itself showed me who he was. He's a special kid, man, and I'm really excited to have a chance to coach him and he was a guy that we targeted a long time ago – to come in here and help us elevate this program.”
Washington, who also carries a 3.95 GPA, will close out his high school career in the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio, TX on Jan. 11, 2025. Washington is among eleven early enrollees for Maryland football alongside Jaylen Gilchrist, Bryce Jenkins, Messiah Delhomme and Zymear Smith among others.
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