Pool balls clicked as Malik Washington racked the table.
It was just past 9 p.m. inside Washington’s quiet College Park apartment. After a long practice day, the freshman quarterback unwound with a game of billiards.
Down the road, bars hummed with student life — just like the football program’s buzz with talk of Washington.
The freshman is Maryland’s most heralded recruit in years, but those who know him said he stands apart from the hype. He’s grounded in family, fueled by creativity and defined by a desire to give back. He’s the entertainer who was Buddy the Elf and Simba in middle school plays, the avid reader and musician teaching himself guitar.
“Malik knows who he is outside of football,” said Kiana Teixeira, Washington’s mother. “He would tell people all the time, ‘I’m just a regular teenage kid that happens to be really good at throwing a football.’”
The 19-year-old is expected to lead Maryland football as its new face. How he channels his highly-touted composure and drive could determine his success.
“To be honest, I never really looked at it as pressure,” Washington said. He lined up his next shot and wore his compression shirt from practice. “I just saw it as people supporting me — my goals and aspirations.”
Rooted in family
Washington’s commitment to the Terps over other illustrious offers last year was unsurprising in his circle.
He was raised neighboring much of his family in Freetown, Maryland, a historically Black community in Glen Burnie. His relatives helped run the community association and built a park named after an uncle. Washington’s great-grandfather left Fogo in 1914, while his great-grandmother was born the same year in Massachusetts and was from Brava, another island in Cape Verde.
“It’s just part of that culture of everything is family first,” Teixeira said.
Washington grew up with constant gatherings on his street — cookouts, birthdays and Thanksgiving dinners. At his step-grandmother’s 60th birthday party, he emceed the program, a natural role for someone known to grab the mic for lip-syncs.
It was formative for Malik, who grew up with three cousins his age alongside his five siblings.
“Growing up, we would tell our kids, you don’t have friends — your cousins are your friends,” said Tarah Coates, Washington’s godmother. “Faith and family was really huge. ”
Teixeira said Washington was the kind of “amazing big brother” who would offer to feed or watch his siblings so she could rest. Some mornings she’d find his younger brother curled up in Malik’s bed.
“You only get one blood family,” Washington said. “Being close to home to them and them being able to come support me just like they did my whole life is really important.”
[Maryland football yet to name starting quarterback as Malik Washington vies for snaps]
A leader at Spalding
When Katherine Mosco saw Washington’s name in her sophomore theology class at Archbishop Spalding, she knew him as the school’s rising star.
She asked students what they wanted to be known for on the first day of class. Mosco expected Washington to mention athletics.
“I want to be known as a kind person,” Mosco recalled Washington saying.
“I was already blown away by his maturity and how he approached life and all the people that he interacted with every day,” said Mosco, who later wrote his college recommendation letter.
Washington’s humility shined at Spalding. On graduation day, he lingered in the cafeteria taking pictures with staff.
Washington was also a leader in the school’s Black Student Union and interned in the admissions office. He launched the Friday Night Lights Youth camp, a free clinic he organized each summer for local kids at Spalding’s field.
Prospective students could also spend a day following Washington. Requests filled up so fast that the admissions office was eventually forced to limit who could.
“He knows everyone, and everyone knows him,” Spalding football coach Kyle Schmitt said. “He’s a one-name guy.”
In middle school, Washington just wanted to read after he finished classwork. At Spalding, while others pulled out phones, Mosco said he reached for a book until the bell.
His love for books also inspired Mosco’s graduation gift. She contacted about 30 educators, administrators, mentors and family members, asking each to contribute a book and a note about the impact he left on them. Together, they gifted Washington a personal library.
The quarterback said he looks through those notes on tough days.
“He’s one of the best athletes to come out of Spalding ever, and he walked around and made everyone feel important and seen,” Mosco said. “I truly believe his humility is what makes him stand out. ”
Is Washington the one for Maryland football?
In many ways, Washington’s commitment to Maryland mirrored his decision to attend Spalding.
The Terps haven’t won a conference title in more than 20 years and have delivered mediocre results for most of the quarterback’s life. Spalding, meanwhile, had never claimed a MIAA A Conference football championship before he arrived.
But Washington chose Spalding for more than football. His cousin had starred there and he was drawn to the school’s environment. It allowed him to keep playing basketball and the opportunity to help build a program.
“It was kind of like my college decision,” Washington said. “A program that was on the rise, had some success, but still trying to get over that hump.”
Washington sat behind a senior quarterback as a freshman — a role Schmitt said he embraced. Schmitt admitted he put Washington in a tough spot during a semifinal loss to McDonogh, when the young arm threw a late interception.
That game became a turning point. Washington told coaches afterward, “I’m never losing to McDonogh again.”
He kept his word, going 33-3 as Spalding’s starter, never losing to a conference opponent and delivering the school’s first three MIAA titles — the last a 31-7 rout of McDonogh that sealed a perfect senior season.
“There’s a killer instinct in there that isn’t always apparent when he’s super nice and just shakes everybody’s hand,” Schmitt said.
[Maryland football’s Malik Washington hosts free youth football camp]
Washington’s impact stretched beyond the field. He cracked Spalding basketball’s starting lineup alongside now-Washington Wizards forward Cam Whitmore after beginning as the sixth man in his freshman year.
Washington earned All-League honors as a junior, posting 17 double-doubles while leading Spalding to the MIAA and BCL title games. Spalding men’s basketball coach Josh Pratt said his imprint was undeniable in his final year of hooping, almost earning him player of the year.
“Everybody knew he wasn’t going to play basketball in college,” said RJ Newton, a former teammate now playing wide receiver at Holy Cross. “With everyone knowing that he still took it very seriously and still made sure that he was a leader on that team.”
Washington’s teammates describe him as loyal as he is competitive.
In his commitment livestream last summer, he let Spalding teammate and cornerback Jayden Shipps announce his pledge to Maryland alongside him.
“That’s one of the biggest recruits in years at Maryland, and he decides to share his commitment day with his teammate. That was just Malik in a nutshell,” Schmitt said.
Maryland teammates have praised Washington’s maturity since he enrolled early in spring. The Terps won’t publicly reveal their starting quarterback until the opener against FAU, though.
Washington said he might be nervous on his first snap, but expects to settle in once he completes a pass and takes a hit. His focus is on earning the respect of his teammates and coaches, he added.
Among fans, that respect already exists — along with anticipation. Many view him as Maryland’s long-awaited savior.
