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ARTICLE:
Brandon Washington heard from a number of four-year schools after his sophomore year of football at Solano Community College, the Bay Valley Conference champion, which finished the 2010 season ranked No. 13 in Northern California and No. 25 in the state.
Coaches and recruiters came with scholarship offers, doing all that they could to entice and convince Washington, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound cornerback who had 11 interceptions in two years for Solano, that their respective school was the place to be.
He turned the offers down — every single one of them.
Family is everything to Washington, a 2009 Napa High School graduate, and if he was going to continue with football, it would have to be closer to home. He wasn’t big on the idea of going to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado or Texas.
“I didn’t want to leave the state of California,” Washington, 20, said Sunday. “My parents and my family have been supporting me for all these years. I just love it when they’re at my games.”
Washington has two years of college eligibility remaining and he’ll be looking to make an immediate statement, an impression and secure a roster spot with his physical, aggressive style of play when camp for Sacramento State starts in August. He’ll want to get up to speed as fast as possible with Sacramento’s defense, all of its systems and schemes.
As an invited walk-on who is already enrolled for the fall semester, coaches will be taking a look at Washington, who will be a junior in the fall, to see if he has what it takes to play on the defensive side of the ball for Sacramento, a member of the Big Sky Conference.
Named All-Monticello Empire League and All-Napa County during his days for the Indians, Washington will be trying to earn a scholarship.
“The second week of August I’m going to Sac State with the possibility of earning a scholarship before the season starts,” he said. “It’s something that I’m really looking forward to being part of. Ultimately, I want to just do my best, earn a scholarship, and see where it goes from there.”
The Hornets start camp in August, in advance of their Sept. 3 opener against Oregon State. Their Big Sky opener is Sept. 17 at Weber State and they open their home schedule Sept. 24 against Montana.
Only six players have been extended invited walk-on status by Sac State, which features former Napa star Jake Croxdale, a running back. Croxdale appeared in all 11 games last year for the Hornets, starting three, and finished the season third on the team with 236 rushing yards. His biggest performances came in the final two games of the year where he was the starter, as he rushed for 69 yards at Idaho State and then amassed 94 at UC Davis.
Spencer Klew, the Lineman of the Year on the 2010 All-Napa County team for Napa High, is an invited walk-on and is enrolled for the summer session. Klew was named All-MEL first team offense as a tackle. Last year, Klew was a team captain, the coaches’ Offensive Player of the Year, and received an Ironman award, given to a player for his work in the weight room, as Napa (10-2 overall) took second place in the MEL, was the No. 2 seed for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs, and was No. 17 in the final CalHiSports.com CIF Division I North bowl rankings.
“I’ve been waiting for two years to play at a university,” said Washington, who played on Napa High’s 2007 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship team. “It’s an opportunity that I’m really excited about it. I love the campus. I like how it’s close to home. I really fell in love with it. It’s definitely a great fit.”
Washington was named to the California Community College Football Coaches Association’s Region III All-State first team as a sophomore cornerback for Solano last year. A team captain, he tied for fourth in the state with five interceptions, leading a Solano team that had a state-best 38 takeaways.
Solano ended the year with a loss to San Jose City College in the Living Breath Foundation Bowl at Monterey Peninsula College. Sixteen Napa Valley players were on the Solano roster last year.
“Overall, I was pleased,” Washington said of his play for the Falcons. “I don’t have really any regrets on what I did there. I gave my all.
“Junior college is definitely a step above high school. It’s a lot faster — and I think that’s really going to help me transition.”
Washington played big for the Falcons in 2010, receiving All-Bay Valley Conference honors. Among the highlights:
• He intercepted a pass as Solano clinched a share of the Bay Valley crown with a 26-7 win over College of the Redwoods-Eureka.
• He intercepted two passes late in the game, helping Solano to a 40-34 nonconference win over Sacramento City College. It was Solano’s first-ever win over Sacramento.
• He intercepted a pass as Solano rolled to a 45-10 win over West Valley-Saratoga.
“He has great field presence, as to where people are and what they are doing,” West co-coach Jeff Turner of Bethel said after the East’s 34-18 win in the 2009 All-Star Charity game, co-sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Napa and the Vallejo Police Activities League. “He really knows how to read the field.”
Washington stood out in that All-Star game, excelling on offense, defense and special teams. Besides catching two passes for 12 yards, Washington also intercepted a pass on the East team’s third possession and returned a kickoff 30 yards. It was an impressive showing by Washington, a big-time player who was First-Team All-Monticello Empire League on both offense and defense. He was also All-Napa County after leading the Indians in receiving (23 catches, 431 yards, eight touchdowns) and interceptions (five) while finishing sixth in tackles (34).
Washington had some big games as a receiver, catching a 50-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Boyett as Napa won its first-ever CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title, defeating St. Mary’s, 38-36, at Stagg Stadium on the campus of University of the Pacific in Stockton in 2007. He caught five passes for 107 yards in that game. The week before, he had five receptions for 55 yards in a semifinal playoff win over Elk Grove.
“As much as I miss playing receiver, I think at this level I have more of a size advantage playing corner,” Washington said. “I’m a really good cover corner.”
He’s working out daily, hitting the weight room, working on his speed and football skills and keeping himself in the best shape possible for the camp that awaits in just a few weeks.
“Right now, you just want to get as big as possible and as strong as possible, so that when the season starts … you have the strength that you built during the summer,” he said. “I feel great.”
With his size and speed, could be an option at safety... Or a Monson mistmatch sub...
ARTICLE:
Brandon Washington heard from a number of four-year schools after his sophomore year of football at Solano Community College, the Bay Valley Conference champion, which finished the 2010 season ranked No. 13 in Northern California and No. 25 in the state.
Coaches and recruiters came with scholarship offers, doing all that they could to entice and convince Washington, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound cornerback who had 11 interceptions in two years for Solano, that their respective school was the place to be.
He turned the offers down — every single one of them.
Family is everything to Washington, a 2009 Napa High School graduate, and if he was going to continue with football, it would have to be closer to home. He wasn’t big on the idea of going to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado or Texas.
“I didn’t want to leave the state of California,” Washington, 20, said Sunday. “My parents and my family have been supporting me for all these years. I just love it when they’re at my games.”
Washington has two years of college eligibility remaining and he’ll be looking to make an immediate statement, an impression and secure a roster spot with his physical, aggressive style of play when camp for Sacramento State starts in August. He’ll want to get up to speed as fast as possible with Sacramento’s defense, all of its systems and schemes.
As an invited walk-on who is already enrolled for the fall semester, coaches will be taking a look at Washington, who will be a junior in the fall, to see if he has what it takes to play on the defensive side of the ball for Sacramento, a member of the Big Sky Conference.
Named All-Monticello Empire League and All-Napa County during his days for the Indians, Washington will be trying to earn a scholarship.
“The second week of August I’m going to Sac State with the possibility of earning a scholarship before the season starts,” he said. “It’s something that I’m really looking forward to being part of. Ultimately, I want to just do my best, earn a scholarship, and see where it goes from there.”
The Hornets start camp in August, in advance of their Sept. 3 opener against Oregon State. Their Big Sky opener is Sept. 17 at Weber State and they open their home schedule Sept. 24 against Montana.
Only six players have been extended invited walk-on status by Sac State, which features former Napa star Jake Croxdale, a running back. Croxdale appeared in all 11 games last year for the Hornets, starting three, and finished the season third on the team with 236 rushing yards. His biggest performances came in the final two games of the year where he was the starter, as he rushed for 69 yards at Idaho State and then amassed 94 at UC Davis.
Spencer Klew, the Lineman of the Year on the 2010 All-Napa County team for Napa High, is an invited walk-on and is enrolled for the summer session. Klew was named All-MEL first team offense as a tackle. Last year, Klew was a team captain, the coaches’ Offensive Player of the Year, and received an Ironman award, given to a player for his work in the weight room, as Napa (10-2 overall) took second place in the MEL, was the No. 2 seed for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs, and was No. 17 in the final CalHiSports.com CIF Division I North bowl rankings.
“I’ve been waiting for two years to play at a university,” said Washington, who played on Napa High’s 2007 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship team. “It’s an opportunity that I’m really excited about it. I love the campus. I like how it’s close to home. I really fell in love with it. It’s definitely a great fit.”
Washington was named to the California Community College Football Coaches Association’s Region III All-State first team as a sophomore cornerback for Solano last year. A team captain, he tied for fourth in the state with five interceptions, leading a Solano team that had a state-best 38 takeaways.
Solano ended the year with a loss to San Jose City College in the Living Breath Foundation Bowl at Monterey Peninsula College. Sixteen Napa Valley players were on the Solano roster last year.
“Overall, I was pleased,” Washington said of his play for the Falcons. “I don’t have really any regrets on what I did there. I gave my all.
“Junior college is definitely a step above high school. It’s a lot faster — and I think that’s really going to help me transition.”
Washington played big for the Falcons in 2010, receiving All-Bay Valley Conference honors. Among the highlights:
• He intercepted a pass as Solano clinched a share of the Bay Valley crown with a 26-7 win over College of the Redwoods-Eureka.
• He intercepted two passes late in the game, helping Solano to a 40-34 nonconference win over Sacramento City College. It was Solano’s first-ever win over Sacramento.
• He intercepted a pass as Solano rolled to a 45-10 win over West Valley-Saratoga.
“He has great field presence, as to where people are and what they are doing,” West co-coach Jeff Turner of Bethel said after the East’s 34-18 win in the 2009 All-Star Charity game, co-sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Napa and the Vallejo Police Activities League. “He really knows how to read the field.”
Washington stood out in that All-Star game, excelling on offense, defense and special teams. Besides catching two passes for 12 yards, Washington also intercepted a pass on the East team’s third possession and returned a kickoff 30 yards. It was an impressive showing by Washington, a big-time player who was First-Team All-Monticello Empire League on both offense and defense. He was also All-Napa County after leading the Indians in receiving (23 catches, 431 yards, eight touchdowns) and interceptions (five) while finishing sixth in tackles (34).
Washington had some big games as a receiver, catching a 50-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Boyett as Napa won its first-ever CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title, defeating St. Mary’s, 38-36, at Stagg Stadium on the campus of University of the Pacific in Stockton in 2007. He caught five passes for 107 yards in that game. The week before, he had five receptions for 55 yards in a semifinal playoff win over Elk Grove.
“As much as I miss playing receiver, I think at this level I have more of a size advantage playing corner,” Washington said. “I’m a really good cover corner.”
He’s working out daily, hitting the weight room, working on his speed and football skills and keeping himself in the best shape possible for the camp that awaits in just a few weeks.
“Right now, you just want to get as big as possible and as strong as possible, so that when the season starts … you have the strength that you built during the summer,” he said. “I feel great.”
With his size and speed, could be an option at safety... Or a Monson mistmatch sub...
