Oklahoma football: DB Woodi Washington primed for breakthrough season

Sooner fans didn’t see much of him last season, but that should all change for Oklahoma football player Woodi Washington in 2020.

The 5-foot, 11-inch, 192-pound safety out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, saw action in just four games for the Sooners in 2019, the most significant of which, interestingly, came in Oklahoma’s loss to LSU in the College Football Playoff national semifinals.

Because he played in just four games in 2019, the former four-star recruit will begin his second season in Norman as a redshirt freshman.

Washington was recruited as a cornerback but was shifted to safety before the start of last season. Sophomores Patrick Fields and Delarrin Turner-Yell played the majority of snaps at safety last season for the Sooners. Because of an injury to Turner-Yell that kept him out of the LSU game, Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles filled in a safety, but when he was ejected for targeting in the second quarter against LSU, it opened the door for Washington to get his first meaningful collegiate minutes and a true baptism under fire test.

Keep an eye on Oklahoma football defensive jersey No. 5 this coming season.

Three plays after entering the game, Washington found himself covering All-SEC LSU wide-receiver Justin Jefferson, who ended up making 14 catches in the game and four of them for touchdowns. One of those TD catches came on that play, despite tight coverage by Washington. i

Despite the unintended outcome, that one play offered a signal of just how good this young freshman defensive back can be. He has the talent. He just needs more game experience, and he got a major indoctrination under extreme circumstances in the College Football Playoff game against the eventual national champions in LSU and their Heisman Trophy quarterback Joe Burrow.

Lincoln Riley and the Sooner defensive coaches thought Washington’s performance was one of the few bright spots defensively in a game that otherwise appeared to be a total mismatch and was essentially over after the first 30 minutes.

Washington was credited with 10 of his 15 tackles for the 2019 season in the LSU game.

“There’s a lot of things in that game he did extremely well,” Riley told Vic Reynolds of The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman recently.

"“When you go back and watch the tape and you watch several of those plays, you’re like ‘Wow.’ That’s pretty good considering the circumstances, the environment, the (limited) practice reps.”"

Both Riley and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who like Washington will be in his second season at OU, expect the redshirt freshman to earn a lot more playing time in 2020 and to make a significant contribution.

Expect to see a lot more from defensive jersey No. 5 in the coming season.