Like father, like son: Kennesaw State’s Washington on same path as his dad
JeRico Washington Jr. and his father share many things.
They have the same birthday, Aug. 16.
They wear the same number. The younger Washington switched from No. 21 to No. 1 for this season to mirror the number his father wore during his playing days at Clark Atlanta.
Now Washington will try to match some of the accomplishments of his father, who had three interceptions and threw a touchdown pass against rival Morehouse in 1999 during his stellar career.
“He called me ‘Junior’ so it’s only right I may as well get his number and go and try to be an All-American like him,” Washington Jr. said. “That’s why I chose No. 1.”
Washington, a redshirt sophomore defensive back at Kennesaw State, is already on the fast track to pull in all-star honors. He made second-team All-Conference USA and was named to the All-Freshman CUSA team in 2024.
This year Washington was chosen to the preseason All-CUSA team and nominated for the American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team, which recognizes players for the their accomplishments on the field and their community service. Among other volunteer work, he spends time visiting elementary schools as part of Read Across America.
“It feels like a dream come true,” Washington said. “It puts a smile on my face and makes me work harder. Instead of being a preseason nomination, I want to actually win those awards.”
Washington is off to a good start. After two solid games against Power Four schools Wake Forest and Indiana, he produced his best game of the season in the home opener against Merrimack. He had six individual tackles, seven total stops, two tackles for loss and one sack.
“JeRico has room to grow, right?” KSU coach Jerry Mack said. “He did a good job of doing some things and had a sack the other day. He’s constantly continuing to get better at being a tackler. He’s still a work in progress. He’s a guy that’s got a lot of talent, and we’re super happy to have him, but just like all the guys in the back end, they’re going to be challenged this week and they’ve got to have their A-game on and ready to play.”
Washington came to Kennesaw State as a preferred walk-on. The head coach at Westlake High School was Rico Zackery, who previously had been on staff at KSU. Zackery arranged for Washington to meet then-defensive backs coach Darius Safford, now at Georgia Southern.
“I took the opportunity and worked my tail off,” Washington said.
Although he was redshirted, Washington got to play four games and ended up leading the team with three interceptions and had 15 tackles, including a personal-best seven against Furman. In 2024, he started all 12 games and led the team with two interceptions and three forced fumbles, as well as six pass breakups and 43 total tackles.
Kennesaw State (1-2) will play its final nonconference game Saturday when it hosts Sun Belt Conference foe Arkansas State (1-2) at 6 p.m. at Fifth Third Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPN-Plus.
The Red Wolves have lost two consecutive to P4 schools Arkansas and No. 14 Iowa State. They average 24 points, 153 yards rushing and 233 yards passing per game. Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor has thrown for 692 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown. He is one of eight FBS quarterbacks to make 25 or more starts at the same school.
“There aren’t many quarterbacks in the country that’s doing it all at the level he’s doing it at right now,” Mack said of Raynor. “We’ve got to protect the edges and keep him in the pocket, keep him contained. You’ve got to bring pressure at the appropriate time and try to rattle them and get them off their spots, because if you let him stand back there like a statue, he can dice you up and slice you up.”
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
