Recruiting on the South Plains | DE Cooper Washington

Wooo hooo!  Yet another defensive end type of athlete that is 6-5/220 and can run.  I'll tell you right now that I'm not getting tired of writing these profiles of high school players that could play multiple positions and are fast. 

The Measurables:

Cooper Washington
Position: DE
DTN Profile
Video: N/A
Rivals Profile 5.7
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 78
Ht: 6'4"
Wt: 225 lbs
Forty: 4.60
High School: Muleshoe (Muleshoe, TX)

So much more after the jump.

The Player Speaks:  Washington did speak after his commitment and as you may recall, Washington had not told anyone about his commitment switch (he was previously committed to Oklahoma) prior to National Signing Day:

"I couldn’t help but smile," Washington said after seeing the jaws drop on a few hundred shocked onlookers in the high school foyer. "I’m pretty big on surprises. I was excited to do this thing right here."

Meh.  I'm not a fan of the drama, but I know that this happens to Texas Tech and let's just say that I'm not a big fan of pulling the switch-eroo during the signing process.  Washington did say that he called the OU coaches on Tuesday night, so there's that. 

For those of you who don't know, Washington played defensive end (see video below), tight end (see the ESPN video) and quarterback (cannot find video).  So no quarterback video, but he did apparently pass for about 210 yards and rush for about 54 yards a game as a quarterback.  Of course, this was only through 4 games, but still, you get the idea that Washington is a pretty versatile athlete.

The Video: 

Scouting Report:  Even though Washington is playing against 2A talent, you can see that he's fast and I'm thinking that the fake 40-yard dash time is pretty close to being accurate.  I think the 4.6 is relatively legitimate.  I'd love to know if Washington runs track and just find out some of his times.  So the thing that impresses me is his speed and to have that sort of speed at 6-4/220 is impressive and is what makes him such an interesting prospect.  Scout's Greg Powers had this to say about Washington:

Washington will need to pack on some size to get ready for the college game, but his best asset is his speed. He has a quick first step and has the stride to chew up turf quickly. He plays with a high intensity level and is a team leader, which is evident by the way he led his team at quarterback as a senior. A red-shirt year could do him wonders to adjust to the college game.

And his Scout profile page has this:

Nice build and he is very versatile on both sides of the ball. Biggest problem is lack of effort at times, when he wants he can be dominating, at other times he gets taken out of the play too easily. Good first step he can get up field with the best of them. His frame can add size and weight. Plays wide receiver on his team.

You don't like to read that a player takes plays off, but on the other hand, this may not have been updated this year as he played receiver / tight end his junior year.  Perhaps the question of a whether or not he takes plays off is something that he worked on his senior year.

Cooper, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!

The 2011 Class: 

Position	Commitment	Ht/Wt	School/State	Rivals	Rivals Rating	Scout	ESPN	ESPN Grade
QB	Michael Brewer	6-0/175	Lake Travis (Austin, TX)	3	5.7	3	3	78
RB	Kenny Williams	5-10/210	Hendrickson (Pflugerville, TX)	4	5.8	4	4	80
RB	Bradley Marquez	5-11/180	Odessa (Odessa, TX)	3	5.7	4	4	79
WR	Derek Edwards	6-1/163	Brenham (Brenham, TX)	4	5.8	3	3	79
WR	Marcus Kennard	6-4/205	Butler County C.C. (El Dorado, KS)	4	5.8	2	0	0
WR	Jakeem Grant	5-7/157	Horn (Mesquite, TX)	3	5.5	3	3	75
TE	Jace Amaro	6-5/237	MacArthur (San Antonio, TX)	4	5.9	4	3	78
OL	Tony Morales	6-4/300	Sam Houston (Arlington, TX)	4	5.8	3	3	78
OL	Alfredo Morales	6-3/287	Sam Houston (Arlington, TX)	3	5.7	3	3	76
OL	Le'Raven Clark	6-6/245	Rockdale (Rockdale, TX)	3	5.7	4	3	79
OL	Matt Wilson	6-7/270	Coldspring-Oakhurst (Coldspring, TX)	3	5.5	3	0	45
DL	Dennell Wesley	6-3/315	Butler County C.C. (El Dorado, KS)	3	5.5	2	0	0
DL	Leon Mackey	6-5/260	Hinds C.C. (Raymond, MS)	4	5.8	3	0	0
DL	Donte Phillips	6-3/260	Homestead (Mequon, WI)	2	5.4	3	2	74
DE	Kindred Evans	6-6/215	South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, TX)	3	5.6	3	3	75
DE	Branden Jackson	6-5/220	McKeesport (McKeesport, PA)	3	5.7	4	3	78
DE	Desimon Green	6-5/230	Clairton (Clairton, PA)	3	5.5	3	3	78
DE	Cooper Washington	6-4/225	Muleshoe (Muleshoe, TX)	3	5.7	3	3	78
LB	Blake Dees	6-0/234	Spanish Fort (Spanish Fort, AL)	3	5.5	3	2	73
LB	Sam Eguavoen	6-2/220	Lakeview Centennial (Garland, TX)	3	5.6	2	3	75
LB	Justin Cooper	6-1/205	University School of Nova South (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)	3	5.5	2	2	74
CB	Jeremy Reynolds	5-9/166	Oak Ridge Military Academy (Oak Ridge, NC)	3	5.5	2	3	77
ATH	Ronnie Daniels	6-1/195	La Cueva (Albuquerque, NM)	3	5.6	3	3	76
ATH	LaDarrin Robertson	6-3/215	Longview (Longview, TX)	3	5.5	3	3	77
ATH	DeAndre Washington	5-9/183	Marshall (Missouri City, TX)	3	5.7	4	3	78
ATH	J.J. Gaines	5-11/175	Irving Nimitz (Irving, TX)	3	5.6	3	3	77
ATH	Otis Wright	6-0/180	Dillard (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)	2	5.4	0	0	45
Averages				3.14	5.62	2.92	2.40	66.00