L’Damian Washington’s high school basketball game was over. He was in the locker room getting ready to go home when a few people rushed in to tell him that his mother, who never missed a game, collapsed in the gym.
“She passed out, and things went from there,” recalled Washington.
Shortly after arriving at a hospital his mother, Sonya, was dead of a stroke at 38. Suddenly, a 15-year-old and parentless high schooler in Shreveport, La. needed to fast become a man. He was six when his 29-year-old father was murdered.
Washington, who is one of 28 kids (27 boys) on his father’s side, is third in line among Sonya’s four sons. The oldest, LaCourtney, became the guardian. He was 19 with a newborn. Tobias was 17 and Tomarious was nine.
“They are by far the reason I am here,” said Washington, in his first year coaching receivers at the University of South Florida. “That is the first time, in a sense, that I learned to truly be part of a team. Everybody had to pitch in and do their deal. We all had different roles to make sure we kept food on the table and make sure little brother got to school. We did it together, by the grace of God.”
They bounced around, were evicted and even homeless for stretch. Yet, they found a way.
“When you are forced to do things outside of what you are used to, that’s what you have to do,” said Washington, whose best friend was murdered the same year his mother passed. “You have no choice. Back against the wall. Do what you can to survive.”
Washington survived with the help of a handful of caring individuals, including his football coach at Shreveport’s Green Oaks High. Steve Dennis, a star defensive back under Eddie Robinson at Grambling State before a decade-long career in the Canadian Football League, disseminated lessons that went well beyond the gridiron.
“What he told me, was that you always have to see yourself for where you are going and not where you are at,” said Washington.
Washington’s destination was Columbia, Mo. He got in the car, drove nine hours to begin a new life without for a minute forgetting where he came from.
“It’s a place that helped me grow from a boy to a man and will always have a special place in my heart,” said Washington, of Columbia, where he ultimately brought his brothers to live with him and where all three are doing well. He also has a long-time partner and two children in Columbia.
It should come as no surprise that it Washington to settle into his new environment. After all, he had never been beyond the borders of the Bayou State.
“I think it took about two years for me to buy in,” he said. “I had to look in the mirror and figure out what I wanted to change, figure out how I wanted to be better and not be a product of my environment. I did not want to return to Shreveport emptyhanded, which would mean I didn’t learn anything at all. So much of my childhood was spent in a bubble.”
Washington’s maturity and will to succeed impressed the man who recruited and coached him for four years at Mizzou.
“I could tell when I met him at his home that he just blended in with people and you could just see his leadership capabilities,” said Gary Pinkel, from his home in Columbia. “He’s a very positive, high-energy guy who came into our program and became a team leader at a young age. As a sophomore he was leading juniors and seniors. He eventually was a captain and turned into a tremendous leader. He was awesome.”
Washington caught 100 passes during his four seasons (2010-2013) at Missouri. He had 50 receptions, including 10 for touchdowns, as a senior in 2013 when the Tigers, in their second year as an SEC member, capped a 12-2 season with a Cotton Bowl victory over Oklahoma State and a No. 5 ranking in the final AP poll.
“He’s a guy who overcame a lot and continued to develop,” said the 71-year-old Pinkel, who retired following the 2015 season when he learned he had non-Hodgkins lymphoma and who, along with his wife, Missy, has since dedicated much time to improving the lives of young people through his GP M.A.D.E (Make A Difference Everyday) Foundation. “L’Damian wanted to become a better young man, become a better football player. He was always a good student and found a path.”
Undrafted, Washington was signed and released by seven NFL teams over a three-year period without having played in a regular season game. He hooked on with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL, catching 24 passes in 2017 only to be cut the following year. He played in the Alliance of American Football and XFL, playing his final game in spring 2020.
Before he hung up his helmet, Washington got into coaching. He was a volunteer head coach at a middle school in Columbia for two years (2018-19) and returned to Mizzou in November 2020 as director of player development under Eli Drinkwitz. That was the launch point of a college coaching career that has taken him back to his home state at Southern University, Oklahoma and Western Kentucky. He joined Alex Golesh’s staff at USF in February.
“I would like to remain in Tampa and help build this program,” he said.
That would be fine with Golesh.
“He’s a powerful dude,” said the first-year coach of the Bulls. “On top of being a really good football coach, he’s an incredible human being who has overcome a ton. He is an incredible mentor to young people. ‘LD’ is the ultimate giver and not a taker. All that guy wants to do is change young people’s lives. I love being around him because his attitude is always positive.”
Football, like many other things in life, is about learning, applying the lessons and moving on. That is what Washington stresses with emphasis.
“They are going to drop passes,” he said. “That’s part of it. Nobody is perfect. How are you going to respond? You drop two passes, how are you going to respond? That’s what life is all about, responding and getting back up.”
That attitude had an immediate impact among a group of receivers — “misfits” as he likes to call them — that had only two returnees among a collection of transfers.
“There are no excuses,” said Sean Atkins, a walk-on and one of the returning wideouts who is USF’s leader in receptions through five weeks. “You put in the work and if you mess up, make the next opportunity be the best opportunity. He brings the right energy in the room and is uber competitive. What you see is what you get. He is an all-around great guy.”
Atkins’ description of his position coach underscores why Pinkel feels the sky is the limit for the 32-year-old Washington.
“I will be very surprised if he does not become very successful in college coaching,” said a man who won 191 games. “People like being around him. He’s smart, he’s caring and his leadership skills are outstanding.”
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