Only two days until Notre Dame. And only 115 shopping days until Christmas. We're not doing a countdown for that, though.
#2 CB Quenton Washington
Redshirt Senior, 5'10", 196 lbs.
Stats In 2010: Played all 13 games, starting 12 (Kayvon Webster and Mistral Raymond were the starting corners against Florida). Had 59 tackles (46 unassisted), fourth-most on the team. Had four PBUs. Played a huge part in the bowl win over Clemson: on consecutive CU posessions, he had a 45-yard interception return and blocked a punt, setting up 10 USF points. Also blocked a punt against FAU, which Armando Sanchez recovered for a touchdown. His stat line shows one punt return for 14 yards, but that's the block; technically he "received" the punt two inches off Mickey Groody's foot, and "returned" the punt to that point.
Current Position On Depth Chart: Starting cornerback. That's on the Notre Dame depth chart, not the post-spring depth chart we've been using. But Washington is a two-year starter and for him not to start his senior year would have been surprising.
How He Came To USF: From North Fort Myers High School in 2007, where one of his teammates was Noel Devine.
Recruiting Rankings: Playing on a high school team with a once-a-decade talent like Devine has to be a mixed blessing. On one hand, you get plenty of opportunities to play in front of college recruiters; on the other, they can't help but compare you to the incomparable one. Perhaps for this reason, Washington attracted little attention, until an impressive showing at USF's camp for high school seniors. He committed to USF soon after that. Scout and Rivals did what they always do when a school signs a player they don't know; they gave him the lowest appropriate rating for that school. For USF, that's two stars. (For a more detailed explanation of this phenomenon, see our Stampeding entry for Andreas Shields.)
Projected Playing Time In 2011: Maybe less would be a good thing. Not because Washington isn't a fine player, but because it would mean the defense got off the field, instead of getting beaten on 3rd and long as happened a lot last season. Also, lack of depth at defensive back has been a concern going into this season; it would be nice to see some underclassmen step up to keep Washington and the other starters fresh.
Given Washington's history of success in blocking kicks (three punts and a PAT over his career), it is likely he will continue to play on special teams as well.