Malik Washington (quarterback)

Malik Washington is an American college football quarterback for the Maryland Terrapins.

Early life

Washington is from Glen Burnie, Maryland. He was one of six siblings and was raised in Freetown, Maryland, where his relatives helped run the community association and built a park named for an uncle. His great-grandfather left Fogo, Cape Verde in 1914, while his great-grandmother was born in Massachusetts and is from Brava, Cape Verde.

Washington started competing in several sports, including football, basketball and baseball, from a young age. He attended Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Maryland, where he was a top football and basketball player. A quarterback on the football team, he was backup as a freshman in 2021 before winning the starting job in 2022, leading his team to a record of 11–1 and the school's first-ever Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Conference A title, while throwing for 2,979 yards and 29 touchdowns.

As a junior, Washington threw for 2,093 yards, completed 62.3% of his passes, and led Spalding to a second-straight MIAA title. He was named The Baltimore Suns 2023–24 boys athlete of the year. He then led Spalding to a third-straight title as a senior in 2024, throwing for 22 touchdowns and running for eight more while his school went 12–0 and were ranked top 10 in the nation. He was named the Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year and the Capital Gazette player of the year. He was the first quarterback to win three consecutive MIAA championships and finished as the MIAA all-time leading passer, additionally compiling a career conference record of 25–0 as a starter. Washington was invited to the Elite 11 quarterback competition and was a US Army and US Navy All-American.