The eighth in a series featuring newcomers to the University of Arkansas football team.
FAYETTEVILLE -- Ty Washington won't need a phasing-in period for any of the multiple uses of the tight end at the University of Arkansas.
The polished 6-2, 240-pounder did it all at Lee County (Ga.) as a three-year starter.
"I played everywhere," Washington said. "I was split out. Outside, inside, hand in the ground, as a fullback, behind the line. It didn't really matter. I played every way that they needed me."
When the Kendal Briles offense is in full flow, the tight end is all over the place, as an in-line blocker, a split-out pass catcher or a motioning H-back lead blocker.
"It's the same thing here really, just everywhere," Washington said. "It hasn't changed. That makes it easier on me, not just having to learn just one position, hand down or something. I know everything about the playbook and knowing all the things I have to do, from slot, hand in the ground, fullback, tight end. That makes it easier."
Washington played prep ball at a Class 6A school that led the state of Georgia with 40 graduates on college football rosters in 2019.
Coach Dean Fabrizio felt the impact of Washington's loss while going through spring drills with the Trojans.
"What Tyrus does, and we're really feeling that now, was he fills the role of three guys," Fabrizio said. "He's got the ability to put his hand in the ground next to a tackle and down block and double team people. He's got the ability to line up in the backfield and kick people out or isolate on people. And he's got the ball skills to split out wide and catch the ball, too.
"So he really creates a big personnel advantage for an offensive coach. ... There's a lot of guys who run out there and catch balls. A lot of guys can put their hand on the ground and block. There ain't a lot who can do both."
Washington caught 39 passes for 565 yards and 15 touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons combined, with a rate of 38.5% of his catches resulting in touchdowns.
Fabrizio added Washington has a personality every bit the equal to his athletic prowess.
"Tyrus is one of those kids that everybody likes," he said. "The teachers like him. His teammates like him. He's just a real down-to-earth, humble kid that's a very hard worker and good student."
An early enrollee, Washington said veterans like Trey Knox and Hudson Henry advised him on the particulars of playing tight end for position coach Dowell Loggains, who has 15 years of NFL coaching experience, seven as an offensive coordinator.
"Trey Knox, most definitely, I'm learning from and he's taken me under his wing," Washington said. "I'm learning a lot from him, just the tricks of the trade, because he played receiver, also.
"Then Hudson, he's probably one of the nicest guys you could meet. Out of everybody, he's just nice. He'll tell you anything you want to know. Everybody's like a brotherhood, including [Nathan] Bax. He's like a brother, too."
Washington said he had been told Northwest Arkansas was beautiful and would feel like southwestern Georgia prior to his official visit, but he needed a first-hand experience to believe it.
"I didn't know what I would think," he said. "My coaches were telling me it's pretty in Fayetteville or in Arkansas. I didn't believe them until I got here.
"It was tremendous. It blew me away because it was just like back home, basically. I wanted to go somewhere that was like home and this is just bigger, but it's basically like back home."
Enrolling early paid dividends, Washington said, because he got well ahead in learning the playbook.
"Spring helps you out ... because you're not just looking at the playbook, trying to study it, but you're running it," Washington said. "If you mess up you're learning from it and older guys are teaching you and you're learning from it. That was the biggest thing from spring."
Washington said he had a welcome to the SEC moment in the spring while squaring off against defensive end Jashaud Stewart.
"I had to solo block a D-end and usually I can do that, normally like blocking in high school," he said. "And I grabbed Stew[art] and he grabbed me like a grown man and I was like, 'What the? What's going on?' He grabbed me for real. I was like, 'This is not like high school football.'"
Washington joined Dax Courtney, who was out in the spring while rehabbing from knee surgery, as the tight end signees between the veteran group and a potential haul of three four-star commitments in Shamar Easter, Luke Hasz and Jaden Hamm in the Class of 2023 for Loggains.
Washington said he loved the first phone call he had with Loggains after Cody Kennedy transitioned from tight ends coach to the offensive line last summer.
"We just hit it off on the first call," he said. "We were just chopping it up, talking about everything. And he has NFL experience, so he's got the connections. He knows the game, so he's someone I can learn the game from a lot more than just tight end. I can learn to read defenses and stuff like that. It's a great asset to have."
Fabrizio said he recalls watching Washington since his elementary school days "when he was in the third or fourth grade in rec ball, and he was the biggest kid out there and was dominating."
"He was always more advanced than most kids with size, the skill set and the coordination that came along with it. I knew all along he had a chance to be a really good player."
Washington played a lot as a sophomore but really broke out the following year.
"I think early in his junior year he showed the ability to block and then split out and catch the ball, Fabrizio said. "When he started showing that I thought, this kid's got the skill set that not very many people have, who can really mix it up in there and really do a good job blocking people and getting dirty right in there, and also the very next play he can split out there and catch the ball."
Washington said he'd like to progress into an All-SEC player, beginning with maximizing his opportunities this fall.
"Right now I'm looking at playing time," he said. "That's great for a freshman, so that'll be great."
Washington, who took jersey No. 8, said he told his father, Donta, he would outshine him during his playing career.
"I always told my Pops I'm going to be better than him, and he had 88 in high school," Washington said. "So I pulled an 8 and told him. He just laughed and I told him I'm going to be better than him. So I'm fixing to rock that 8 and make it a known number."
Ty Washington at a glance
POSITION Tight end
HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-4, 240 pounds
AGE 18 (Born June 8, 2004)
HOMETOWN Leesburg, Ga.
HIGH SCHOOL Lee County High
NOTEWORTHY Consensus three-star prospect who was the No. 55 player in Georgia and the No. 29 tight end in the country by Rivals. … Chose Arkansas over Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Tennessee, Nebraska, Central Florida and others. … Three-year starter for Class 6A Lee County for Coach Dean Fabrizio. … Caught 22 passes for 307 yards and 5 touchdowns as a senior and was also a key blocker. … Named first-team All-Region 1-6A and helped Lee County to an 11-2 record and state quarterfinal appearance. Had 17 catches for 258 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior on a 12-2 team that lost the state title game. … Parents are Vanessa and Donta Washington and sister is Aiya.
Arkansas freshman tight end Ty Washington figures to be able to step into the multi-faceted position in the Razorbacks’ offense. “He really creates a big personnel advantage for an offensive coach,” said Dean Fabrizio, Washington’s high school coach. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)