Finally healthy again, this Boise State pass rusher has ‘new appreciation’ for football
Boise State edge rusher Demitri Washington is an old man in college football terms.
Washington is a fifth-year senior, and his career began so long ago that he was teammates with former Broncos pass rusher Jabril Frazier (2015-2018), who is going into his third season as a graduate assistant at his alma mater.
It’s hard to imagine a player like Washington, who has appeared in 30 games since 2018, enjoying a first-time experience on a football field anymore, but that’s the situation he finds himself in for spring practice.
Washington hasn’t been on the field for the entirety of a spring camp in his career, thanks to injuries and COVID-19. But he’s healthy this year and looking forward to having a full offseason under his belt heading into what could be the final year of his college career.
Washington has the option to return in 2023 thanks to the extra year of eligibility the NCAA offered because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he said he’s not thinking about that. He’s just reveling in the fact that he’s back playing with his teammates.
“We got to go live today, and that was awesome, especially since it feels like (last) season was so long ago,” Washington told the Idaho Statesman on Friday after the Broncos’ fifth spring practice. “I’ve been looking forward to spring ball, and I’m just taking it day by day and having fun.”
The last time Washington was 100% healthy at the start of spring ball was 2020, but the Broncos got only three practices that year before the rest were canceled because of the pandemic.
He missed most of March and April’s camp in 2019, and all 15 practices last year while recovering from injuries. The 6-3, 270-pound native of Solana Beach, California, suffered a torn ACL in the second game of the 2020 season, and it took him the entire offseason to get back to a point where he could even practice.
Washington said the first time he fully sprinted in 2021 was during the Broncos’ first practice of fall camp in early August.
“When players get injured, you have to regain that confidence,” he said. “You’re going to go out there and you’re going to be moving gingerly and kind of moving slow, and then you start overthinking. You want to go in and dominate every snap, but you have to remember you haven’t played football in so long, and it takes time to get back.”
It took Washington most of last season to rebuild his confidence and play fast, he said, and he made an impact in the final month of the regular season. He clinched Boise State’s home win over Wyoming with a fourth-quarter interception, and his only two sacks of the season came in the final two games: at Fresno State and at San Diego State.
Washington posted a career-high 41 tackles in the 2021 season, and he said his confidence is at an all-time high.
“I have a new appreciation for football,” said Washington, who is celebrating his 22nd birthday on Saturday. “Football is a tough game. People always assume it gets easy once you’ve done it for a while, but football is always changing and you’re continually having to get better and change yourself as a player. That just makes me more excited to go out and practice.”
Washington’s newfound enthusiasm is infectious, Boise State edge coach Kelly Poppinga said.
“He practices really hard,” Poppinga said. “We have to pull him back at times, and those are the guys I love to coach.”
Washington still has some developing to do, Poppinga said, adding that the two of them sat down together in the film room about a week before spring practice started and went over potential improvements.
“There are some things he needs to work on in being more consistent in his first step and his footwork when he drops back in coverage,” Poppinga said. “But a lot of it for him is just getting out there and making plays. He’s in position. He just has to finish.”
Washington admitted that he went through some dark days during rehab the first half of 2021, but he got a boost from one-on-one talks with Boise State head coach Andy Avalos — a former linebacker for the Broncos who understands that athletes don’t just wake up one day and realize they’re great football players, Washington said.
“He just kept telling me football is a developmental game,” Washington said. “You just have to keep working and keep developing every day, and you can’t get down on yourself.”
Boise State spring game
When: 3:30 p.m., April 9
Where: Albertsons Stadium
Admission: Free
