L'Damian Washington

Washington attended Green Oaks High School, where he played football and basketball. As a junior, he earned All-district honors after making 7 interceptions while playing at cornerback.

As a senior, he registered 53 receptions for 1,064 yards and 12 touchdowns at wide receiver, while having 4 interceptions on defense. In one game he posted 6 receptions for 257 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was a team captain and a First-team All-district selection. He was named the offensive MVP at the inaugural Sportsman's Paradise All-Star Game in Louisiana.

Washington accepted a football scholarship from the University of Missouri. As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in 12 games (one start), collecting 5 receptions for 35 yards.

The next year, he recorded 20 receptions for 364 yards (18.2-yard average) and 3 touchdowns. He earned the full-time starter job as a junior, registering 25 receptions for 443 yards (17.7-yard average) and 2 touchdowns.

In 2013, Washington finished his senior season with 50 receptions for 893 yards (17.9-yard average) and 10 touchdowns,{{Cite web |title=L'Damian Washington College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/ldamian-washington-1.html |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}} including a 96-yard touchdown catch against the University of South Carolina. He was limited with a left turf toe during the final five games of the season. He was also voted a team captain the same year.

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Washington was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2014 NFL draft. He suffered a right shoulder injury in June, that forced him to miss most of the organized team activities. He returned in time for the start of training camp, but injuries on the defensive line forced the team to waive him on August 2.{{cite web|title=Dallas Cowboys add defensive ends|url=https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4730993/cowboys-add-defensive-end |work=ESPN.com |access-date=September 16, 2019}}

Washington was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco 49ers on August 3, 2014.{{cite web|last1=Florio|first1=Mike|url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/03/49ers-give-up-on-receiver-jon-baldwin/|title=49ers give up on receiver Jon Baldwin|publisher=Pro Football Talk|access-date=August 3, 2019}} He was cut on August 30.

Washington was signed to the New York Giants practice squad on September 16, 2014.{{cite web|title=Giants put Thurmond, Jernigan on injured reserve|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/09/16/anheuser-busch-sponsor-statement-nfl-ray-rice-greg-hardy-adrian-peterson/15728397/|publisher=USA Today|access-date=September 16, 2019}} He was released on September 24.

Washington was signed to the Cleveland Browns practice squad on October 21, 2014. He was waived on November 25.

Washington was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad on December 3, 2014.{{cite web|title=Dolphins' Cortland Finnegan has testy history with Ravens' Steve Smith|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article4266531.html |publisher=Miami Herald |access-date=16 September 2019}}

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Washington to a futures contract on January 8, 2015. On May 21, he was placed on the injured reserve list and was waived injured 5 days later, after splitting his calf in two and tearing it off the bone.

Washington signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on August 3, 2015.{{cite news|work=KansasCity.com|url=http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/red-zone/article29898724.html|date=August 3, 2015|title=Chiefs sign former Mizzou receiver L'Damian Washington|first=Terez|last=Paylor|access-date=September 12, 2019}} He was released by the team on August 30.

On September 1, 2016, Washington was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He was released from the practice roster on September 13.

On May 31, 2017, he signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He started in the season opener against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, tallying 2 receptions for 38 yards and one touchdown. He appeared in 8 games, registering 24 receptions for 246 yards and two touchdown. He was cut on May 1, 2018.{{cite news|work=Winnipeg Sun|url=https://winnipegsun.com/sports/football/cfl/winnipeg-bluebombers/washington-porter-among-cuts-as-bombers-pare-down-roster|date=May 1, 2018|title=Washington, Porter among cuts as Bombers pare down roster|first=Ted|last=Wyman|access-date=September 12, 2019}}

On September 14, 2018, Washington signed with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football for the 2019 season.{{cite news|work=AL.com|url=https://www.al.com/sports/2018/09/birmingham_aaf_adds_9_players.html|date=September 14, 2018|title=Birmingham AAF adds 9 players, including Auburn's Ryan White|first=Mark|last=Inabinett|access-date=September 14, 2018}} The league ceased operations in April 2019.{{Cite web |last=Rothstein |first=Michael |last2=Wickersham |first2=Seth |date=June 13, 2019 |title=Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/26957796/inside-short-unhappy-life-alliance-american-football |access-date=January 9, 2024 |website=ESPN.com}}

In October 2019, Washington was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks as part of the 2020 XFL Draft.{{cite web|last=Bender|first=Bill|url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/xfl-draft-tracker-results-picks-list-rosters-football-league/jahz8p84e4i61hb8lajqs4a22|title=XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league|website=Sporting News|date=October 21, 2019|access-date=October 23, 2019}} On February 9, 2020, he started in the season opener tallying 5 receptions for 20 yards in a 15–9 win over the Dallas Renegades.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ktbs.com/sports/former-green-oaks-star-l-damian-washington-makes-impact-in/article_fda653b0-4ba7-11ea-a7f7-a72ed8e061ba.html|title=Former Green Oaks star L'Damian Washington makes impact in XFL debut|last=Brown|first=Daniel|website=KTBS|language=en|access-date=2020-02-10}} In March, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season.{{cite web |title=XFL Injured Reserve |url=https://www.xfl.com/xfl-injured-reserve |website=XFL.com |access-date=February 25, 2020}} Playing in all 5 games, he had 21 receptions for 252 yards and one touchdown.{{cite web |title=XFL L'Damian Washington stats |url=https://stats.xfl.com/Player/10375 |website=XFL.com |access-date=February 6, 2020 |archive-date=April 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412013611/https://stats.xfl.com/Player/10375 |url-status=dead }} He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.{{cite news |author=Condotta, Bob |title=XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/xfl-suspends-operations-terminates-all-employees/ |website=SeattleTimes.com |date=April 10, 2020 |access-date=July 17, 2020}}

Washington was head football coach at West Middle School in Columbia, Missouri for the Fall 2019 and 2020 season.{{cite news |author=Kauffman, Andrew |title=Full interview: Former XFL standout L'Damian Washington ready for next challenge |url=https://abc17news.com/news/2020/04/13/full-interview-former-xfl-standout-ldamian-washington-ready-for-next-challenge/ |website=ABC 17 News |date=April 13, 2020 |access-date=October 23, 2020}}

In January 2022, Washington joined the Oklahoma Sooners football staff as an offensive analyst and assistant wide receivers coach.{{cite web | url=https://www.si.com/college/oklahoma/football/oklahoma-adds-ldamian-washington-to-coaching-staff | title=Oklahoma Adds l'Damian Washington to Coaching Staff }} On August 7, 2022, following the sudden resignation of wide receivers coach Cale Gundy, Washington was appointed to the role on an interim basis by head coach Brent Venables.{{cite tweet|number=1556486614246998016|user=OU_Football|title=Statement from head football coach Brent Venables:|date=8 August 2022}}

Following the season, Washington joined the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football coaching staff, but later that same offseason was offered and accepted the role of wide receivers coach at the University of South Florida. Initial results have been high, with FCS transfer Naiem Simmons posting 8 catches for 272 yards and a touchdown vs Rice University and returning WR Sean Atkins catching 4 passes for 116 yards and 2 TDs against the United States Naval Academy.

Washington is a motivational speaker. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a psychology degree in 4 years, despite having lost both of his parents at an early age. His father was murdered when he was only 6, and his mother had a stroke and died after one of his high school basketball games when he was only 15.

Washington is one of four brothers (La'Courtney, Tobias, Tomarious), once their mom had passed they had all decided to remain together as one taking care of each other, with La'Courtney becoming their legal guardian. Washington was accompanied by his best friends and also high school teammates; Joshua, Roovelroe and Jordan. L'Damian's best friend was murdered when he was only 15.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/128648/ldamian-washington-continues-the-fight L'Damian Washington continues the fight]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jlLWn-2ic8 Athlete Spotlight: The L'Damian Washington Story]
• [https://mutigers.com/sports/football/roster/l-damian-washington/3146 Missouri Tigers Bio]
• [https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/17307/ldamian-washington L'Damian Washington Stats]

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Category:1991 births

Category:Living people

Category:Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana

Category:American football wide receivers

Category:Cleveland Browns players

Category:Dallas Cowboys players

Category:Edmonton Elks players

Category:Missouri Tigers football players

Category:New York Giants players

Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players

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Category:Birmingham Iron players

Category:St. Louis Battlehawks players

Category:Southern Jaguars football coaches

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Category:Missouri Tigers football coaches