After impressive debut, Parker Washington determined to take 'next steps'
In the first weeks of Penn State’s spring practices, head coach James Franklin was asked to assess the breadth of the Nittany Lions’ receiving room.
During an offseason in which the program boasted the return of Jahan Dotson for his senior year, particularly in light of his breakout of 52 receptions for 884 yards and eight touchdowns last season, the room’s other quantities were less known. With few career receptions among the likes of veterans Cam Sullivan-Brown and Daniel George, and none among the likes of Jaden Dottin, Malick Meiga, and incoming true freshmen Liam Clifford, Harrison Wallace, and Lonnie White, Franklin focused his attention on the necessary “next step” for second-year performers Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
Crediting their debuts with having “a pretty decent amount of success” given their combined targets, Franklin said, “it's going to be interesting for them… can they take that next step in their careers now, kind of understanding what it takes?”
For Washington, the answer is emphatical to the affirmative.
Finishing second among the Nittany Lions in receptions last season with 36 for 489 yards and six scores, the Sugar Land, Texas native immediately made his mark on the program as a true freshman. Collecting at least one catch in every game, starting all of them during the COVID-19-impacted 2020 season, Washington filled an important role for the Nittany Lions at a time when questions were plentiful throughout Penn State’s passing game.
Having lost key target Pat Freiermuth to a season-ending shoulder injury just four games into the slate, Washington’s eight receptions for 70 yards and two scores in week three against Maryland, and a school-record nine receptions for a true freshman in the first win of the season at Michigan, were crucial contributions. Built upon by his four receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the penultimate game of the schedule against Michigan State, Washington’s confidence and comfort level grew in conjunction with the preseason preparation that’d allowed him to contribute in the first place.
“Last year I felt I started to feel comfortable definitely when I started to get more time with Coach Stubbs. He helped me a lot and especially learning defenses and being comfortable with how fast college football was,” Washington told reporters this spring. “And I felt like once I got more time with him, I was comfortable and I was ready to go.
“I felt like my confidence came from some of the preparation I had during the offseason. I felt very excited and I was just eager to get on the field at Penn State because it's a dream. I was excited for that, so I felt like that preparation brought my confidence.”
By the conclusion of the program’s spring practices, Washington had fulfilled the aims identified by Franklin previously, the head coach noting that the receiver had “flashed” through March and April and built on his first-year performance.
Citing his excitement for the transition for the Nittany Lions to the system of new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, Washington’s objectives were two-fold, focusing on his mental preparation and a leadership element that admittedly comes less naturally to him.
“I work a lot with trying to make the tough catches, so a lot of my preparation before practice and before games is practicing on the Jugs and making tough catches. I feel like I'm pretty good at that,” Washington said. “I think the next step, though, is just getting comfortable with seeing the defenses and identifying what they're doing a lot more. Being a young player, that comes over time, so I feel I'm doing pretty good with that right now.”
His leadership qualities, however, have been more of a work-in-progress, Washington said.
“Coach Stubbs wants me to take a big leadership role. My biggest thing with me is I love to lead and I'm more of a guy that leads by example. I'm not too much of a talkative guy,” he said. “But, they kind of want to push me to that stage to talk a little bit more and just be a great leader and just coming and being consistent every day at practice.”
Working to deliver on those aspirations through the spring and into the program’s summer offseason, the effort sets up Washington as a clear, legitimate second option to quarterback Sean Clifford heading into the 2021 campaign.
Impressing teammates and coaches with his performances thus far, bringing strength and power atypical of the position thanks to his 5-foot-10, 210-pound frame, with deceptive speed on top of it, the Nittany Lions are counting on Washington’s continued development in the coming weeks and months.
“He's tough to bring down. He's strong. The way that he's cleaning in the weight room with our strength conditioning coaches, his lower body man, he is big, and he's powerful, and he's explosive,” Stubblefield said. “That's also what helps him to get in and out of the breaks as well as he's been able to do it is because he's pretty gosh dang good when it comes to his technique, then he's powerful.”
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