Washington shines in first start as a Mountaineer
Two days before West Virginia took the field to battle Texas Tech, cornerback Keith Washington was informed of a change in the team’s starting defensive lineup.
The former Michigan Wolverine and junior college transfer was told by his position coach, Doug Belk, that he would be making his first career start as a Mountaineer in Lubbock as the West Virginia defense prepared to face its biggest challenge to date.
Washington is a player that has been in the mix to get more reps and start according to defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. The cornerback position is a competitive one that has seen primarily four players get major reps in Hakeem Bailey, Josh Norwood, Derrek Pitts and Washington.
“Keith’s been playing well,” Gibson said. “He’s a baller, so when it’s game time, he goes and he can run, he can run, so I really like where he’s at.”
It was a tale of two halves that saw the Mountaineers dominate defensively in the first half, but Texas Tech nearly rally for a come-from-behind win. Through it all, it was Washington who would arguably have the biggest impact as he finished with seven tackles, three pass breakups and a key interception near the end of the game.
Washington said he wasn’t nervous heading into the matchup and has plenty of trust in his coaches and teammates.
“I've been doing this all since spring ball,” Washington said.
That looked to be the case on Saturday as the Prattville, Alabama native seemed unfazed by Texas Tech’s high potent passing attack that was ranked No. 1 entering the game, averaging close to 436 passing yards per game.
Washington’s job mainly involved covering Texas Tech’s leading receiver, Antoine Wesley, and the two engaged in a competitive battle that saw both players endure some high and low moments.
“He's a good player,” Washington said. “I loved that matchup. I'm a competitor, he's a competitor, so I loved that.”
For Washington, one of his three pass breakups came on a critical third-and-goal early in the fourth quarter against Wesley in the end zone as Texas Tech settled for a field goal to put the score at 35-20 in favor of the Mountaineers instead of 35-24.
Along with catching eight passes for 110 yards and a touchdown, the 6-foot-5 Wesley made a couple of critical plays, including one spectacular catch on third-and-three that was both tipped and contested by Washington. The catch set the Red Raiders up near the goal line where they eventually made it a one possession game.
In football, it’s important to have a short memory and turn your focus to the next play which can be difficult to accomplish after making a critical mistake or allowing a big play. Even though there wasn’t much Washington could’ve done to prevent Wesley from making the catch, he knew he had to put the play behind him.
“You put it away, but at the same time, you always think I've got to make up for it,” Washington said. “But that's just a (defensive back’s) mentality. Receivers are going to make plays.”
It didn’t take Washington long at all to move on from Wesley’s circus catch.
Washington dropped what could’ve been a pick-six earlier in the game, but the next opportunity came on Texas Tech’s next offensive possession late in the fourth, he made the most of it as he picked off Jett Duffey’s pass intended for Wesley and ran it back 51 yards for a touchdown which helped ice the game.
“It's natural,” Washington said. “I've been playing this game since I was six years old, so (I) just made a play.”
Washington’s interception was the third turnover West Virginia’s defense forced with Kenny Robinson intercepting two passes to account for the other two turnovers. Both Robinson and Washington wore a coal miner helmet on the sideline after their interceptions which is the defense’s turnover award.
Moving forward, Washington looks to be in strong contention to start at cornerback again as he hopes to wear the helmet more and hopefully see more of his teammates put it on as well.
“A lot of guys, they joke on me calling Little Head,” Washington said. “That was fun, a cool experience and hopefully we can do it some more this season.”
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