High school coach Trey Sissom breaks down WR Parker Washington

Back on National Signing Day, I saw a poll on Twitter asking Penn State fans which Class of 2020 prospect they were most excited about. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs, the highest-ranked player in the class, earned quite a few votes, as did tight end Theo Johnson. Wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith and running back Caziah Holmes also earned their fair share, but when the votes were all tallied up, it was wide receiver Parker Washington who had won the poll.

Those results shouldn’t have come as any surprise. While the Texas prospect may not have earned as many offers as some or had the most stars, there’s no question which 2020 signee had the most exciting highlight film. Just watch the first 30 seconds and you’ll see what I mean.

In just the second game of the season a year ago, Washington found himself trending on Twitter when a highlight clip of his spinning, one-handed catch for a touchdown against Richmond Foster made the rounds. He did it again six weeks later. The second catch was nearly identical to Odell Beckham’s one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys back in 2015, as Washington jumped up in the air, reached back, and pulled the ball in one-handed, completing the catch. Once again, he found himself trending on social media.

“We knew fairly early on that Parker was going to be a special player,” said Fort Bend Travis head coach Trey Sissom. “He played a little bit for us as a freshman and really showed us then that he was a dependable player. Unfortunately, he ended up missing his sophomore season with one of those nagging injuries that just didn’t go away. … But coming into his junior season, he’d do something special on the practice field every day. He was always making catches that most players his age don’t make.

“It’s funny, because Parker is actually built more like a running back than a receiver, but when you see what he’s able to do when the ball is in the air, it makes it easy for someone like myself to play him out wide. Anyone that’s seen his highlight film understands what I mean. He just has that flair that allows him to make so many special plays.”

Washington came back onto the scene in 2018 with his best high school season, totaling 75 receptions, 1,486 yards and 18 touchdowns. By the end of the season, he already held a handful of scholarship offers from schools like Duke, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky. That count nearly tripled in the spring and summer of 2019 once schools began to learn more about Washington off the field.

“I think my favorite thing about Parker is that he’s more mature than you would ever imagine for a kid his age,” Sissom said. “In terms of how he is on the practice field or in the locker room, the day-to-day work that he puts in, the effort that he puts in, it’s impressive. Not to mention, he’s an incredible athlete, too. Parker is just the ultimate competitor.

“But off the field, you’re not going to find a better person. His parents have raised him very well. He’s very humble and quiet. You’ll rarely hear him in a meeting room. He’s not one of those guys that’s imposing. He lets his play and his performance on the field or in the weight room, wherever it’s at, dictate your impression of him. To me, that’s one thing that really makes him special.”

During his junior season, Washington was part of a two-headed monster at Travis, playing alongside four-star wide receiver and former Florida Gators commit Arjei Henderson. Sissom said that having Henderson within the same program not only gave Washington someone to push himself against, but also helped him navigate the recruiting process.

“I thought having Arjei a grade ahead of Parker was great for him,” Sissom said. “It gave Parker a road map in some ways. He saw everything that was going on with Arjei and some of the other kids, and I think that helped him handle the recruiting process and everything that comes with that. Not to mention, having another really good receiver on the team just helped push him and made him better. I really enjoyed watching Parker grow into the player he became.

“But also, on top of that, he has a great family around him, and they’re very familiar with college football. His father played football at [Mississippi State], and his sister is now part of Lovie Smith’s staff at Illinois. So, they all helped Parker handle this the right way.”

By the summer of 2019, Washington had earned 16 scholarship offers. Georgia Tech, Houston, Nebraska and Utah all came calling, but in the end, his decision came down to two Big Ten programs, Penn State and Wisconsin.

Before making his decision, Washington took back-to-back official visits to Penn State and Wisconsin in mid-June. He also flew up to State College with his sister a few months earlier in April 2019 to get his first look at the school.

“One of the biggest things that caught my eye was their academics,” Washington said following his visit. “That’s going to be important to me. The [Morgan Academic Center] is really nice. It’s a real complex building with different rooms that are isolated so you can avoid distractions. … But I also liked the campus and how it’s isolated. In that whole area, everyone is all about Penn State. That’s big to me, too.”

Washington committed to Penn State on July 2, less than two weeks after his official visit. He held firm with his decision and never wavered, although Sissom said that a few schools closer to home tested his commitment to the Nittany Lions late in the process.

“Parker was recruited more nationally than he was by some of the bigger schools in our region,” he said. “He really saw more interest from schools outside of our region more so than Texas or [Texas] A&M. That was unique I thought about his recruitment. Once he committed, he was never going to look around, but there were a few schools that gave him a look late. [Texas] A&M, TCU and Texas Tech, plus a few other Big 12 schools, made a bit of a push after the fact, but once he gave his commitment to Penn State, he was never going to change that. Coach [James] Franklin and his staff were thorough with him from the start, which helped make this an easy decision for Parker. Plus, he’s such a high-quality kid. Once he gave his word, he was never going to go against that.”

Washington, who runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, finished his career with 159 receptions for 2,821 yards and 36 touchdowns. In the three seasons he lettered, Travis improved each year. After a 7-4 season in 2017, the Tigers went 8-3 in 2018, followed by a 10-1 season his senior year.

Like the other the Class of 2020 players who didn’t enroll early, Washington joined the program in June. Sources close to the team suggested that he got off to a great start during his first two months on campus. That’s no surprise to Sissom.

“The biggest thing about Parker is that he’s just a playmaker,” he said. “He’s not a guy that’s going to play outside and run deep post routes and make those splashy, deep touchdowns. He’s the kid that you get the ball to on third down. Really, you get him the ball whenever you can, because he makes people miss. … Also, his versatility stands out. We ran a bunch of jet sweeps, bubble routes, screens, all of that. He’s that player who you just find different ways to get him the ball. I can’t tell you how many times we would get him the ball a yard deep in the backfield and he would end up taking it 60. He made us look like pretty good coaches, but really, it was all him making plays.”

*******

- To order your copy of Blue White Illustrated's magazine, CLICK HERE.

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98

• Like us on Facebook