Morgan State University Athletics

This is the sixth in a series of interviews with Morgan State senior student-athletes to celebrate their accomplishments and honor their service and dedication with a Senior Spotlight.

The NCAA canceled all winter and spring sports for the remainder of the academic calendar year. In response to the cancellation of the annual athletics banquet, this would give our senior student-athletes a sense of accomplishment and closure.
 
The sixth student-athlete is redshirt senior defensive end Malachi Washington. The Waldorf, Md. native was one of the top defensive players in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

As a junior for Morgan in 2017, Washington started in every game and finished the season with 39 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, eight sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Heading into the 2018 season Washington was expected to have another dominant season. He was named to the HBCU Preseason FCS All-American First Team, Phil Steele Preseason All-MEAC First Team, and Preseason All-MEAC First Team, however a foot injury caused him to miss the entire season.

Washington once again met with adversity when he reinjured his foot prior to the start of the 2019 campaign.

Despite the injury, Washington finished the season as the team's fifth leading tackler with 43 stops (21 solo) and earned All-MEAC Second Team honors. He ranked No. 6 in the league with 12.5 tackles for loss and was T-6^th in sacks (6.0). He also had six QB hurries, a blocked kick, and had a 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown on Sept. 28 against North Carolina Central. 
 
During his career with the Bears, he racked up 116 tackles, 38 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks with three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and an interception.

"Malachi Washington was a very talented football player at Morgan State, who made offensive linemen fear him," said MSU Defensive Coordinator Antonio James. "His explosiveness and ability to bend the corner in pass rush, made offenses always have to account for him."

"What most people don't get to see is the brother he is to his teammates and the dedication he has to the game," James added. "Washington came to work everyday and helped his teammates in anyway possible. He's always asking questions and giving insightful information about opponents. His presence will be missed and he has left the Bears with a huge void to fill."

Washington discussed his time academically and athletically at Morgan State.
 
Questions are in bold, and are followed by Washington's responses. 
 
How are you and your family doing?
 
Me and my family are doing pretty good. Everyone is healthy and taking everything serious because it's pretty crazy right now. I live with my son and my girlfriend, so we've just been in the house and waiting for all this to go away.
 
What have you and your family been doing during the pandemic? 
 
We've just been chilling, cleaning up and packing because we're moving in like two weeks. That's pretty much what we've been doing this past month. Staying inside is normal for us, we're some homebodies, so we're used to this. 
 
What was going through your head last season when you were injured? 
 
I was down… I didn't expect that to happen when I fractured my foot again. It was unexpected. They told me during camp that my foot was broken again. It was hard to deal with and watch my teammates play. I still tried to be the best teammate I could be from a distance. I was injured and I couldn't be around the team how I wanted to. I'm not used to being hurt. That was my first time missing an entire football season.
 
 
How was it bouncing back from injury this season?
 
It was hard. It's really hard when you miss an entire year of football and it's like nothing you can do to prepare. It was kind of hard for me in the beginning, but I got through it by getting in better shape than I was in the beginning of the season. [At the beginning of the season] I was still going through my little steps trying to get back to myself during the summer, so I couldn't go full speed with everything I wanted to. I broke my foot twice, so I was already prepared for the pain that came with it so I pretty much dealt with it my last season and I didn't want to come back for a sixth year. I dealt with the pain and played through it. I was good for the most part… I don't think I was 100 percent. I feel like I messed up myself. I didn't take care of my foot as I should have. I went through all my therapies and everything I needed to--  but it just felt like I wasn't the same Malachi. I felt like I stepped back. People say I didn't, but I had high expectations for myself. It's no way around the pain when you have a screw in your foot. 
 
 
How has being part of the football team shaped you?
 
It helped me see life in a different light because everything we do on the football field it relates to life as well. All the lessons I learned. Just everything. I think it definitely helped me in life just seeing things different or from different perspectives on things and how you treat people, and how you're supposed to attack whatever you want to do in life. You have to keep pushing and be the best. You can't stop until you are where you want to be. Football helped me with life for sure. 
 
How would you describe your career?
 
I think I had a solid career at Morgan. I feel like I could've done better being more serious my freshman and sophomore year. But I'm not I'm not holding anything back. I don't have any regrets about my career. I did the best I could do. I put my body on the line every year and every play. I was loyal to my teammates and my coaches…  I was a big brother that everybody could call when they needed help. 


 
Favorite game you played during your career?
 
My junior year (2017) when we played at South Carolina State and Darius Leonard was still on their team. That's my favorite game because I was just going crazy that game. I had a couple sacks and I even had a strip sack and I ran it back for a touchdown, but the officials called it back... when it really was a touchdown. That was one of my best games. 
 
How have you grown in your four years as a player and student?
 
Being on the team showed me nothing is given to you. During my four years of classes as well, I majored in sociology, I learned so many things about people in general. How they think, why they do things and why they have this type of reaction, and that definitely helped me grow and mature as a person. I tend to be careful about some of the things I say, because of what I've learned from being a sociology major. 
 
On his relationship with the players and coaches during his four years.
 
I made so many brothers through Morgan just from football... guys like Ian [McBorrough], Rico [Kennedy] Lamont [Hill], its so many other guys but I could name. So many dudes I'm close with that I will always be close with, that I can call and ask them to pick up my son. It's a lot of stuff that I can depend on them for.  I'd never trade them for any other teammates and I'm blessed to have them. We ran through a lot of coaches, but Coach [Tyrone] Wheatley and Coach [Ernest] Jones were my favorite head coaches. Coach Jones was a solid guy who helped us beyond football. He was that guy who was understanding and would listen. As for Coach Wheatley, he wanted us to get to a certain level that he knew we could reach. I will always love them and appreciate them for being my head coach and keeping me on the right track.
 
How do you feel the coronavirus will affect the team heading into the 2020-21 season?
 
I feel like it's up to the NCAA and whatever they do will affect everyone in college. It's really about if the school is going to be open. If the school is not open, I'm pretty sure they're not going to open up any sport. 
 

 
What's next for Malachi Washington? 
 
I want to work with kids. I want to work in a recreation center and just help kids who live in the ghetto and hard areas. When they come home from school and they don't want to go home or go to bad crowds, they can just come to the Rec Center and I could be that mentor for them. I really want to be a big mentor for kids to just help them move in the right track. Not point them in the direction that I want them to go, but just to help them stay on track to be successful in life. That's really what it's all about. Laying down the foundation for the next generation. 
 
Any other comments? 
 
I'd just like to give a shoutout to everyone throughout my four, five years at Morgan. Everyone who helped me from the coaches to the players, to the front office to Ms. Wagner, Ms. Watkins, Ed Scott, my professors and just everyone. I just want to say that I'm blessed that I came across them in my life and they helped me.

Previous Senior Spotlights
Roi Wallace
Stanley Davis
Diamond Hunter
DeAndre Harris
Dezyree Morales 

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