Iowa Football Recruiting: RB Terrell Washington Jr Signs With Hawkeyes

Over the years, the Hawkeyes have made a habit of pulling one or two late commitments ahead of the early signing period. Typically, Iowa fans associate those memories with under the radar players with few or no offers, or perhaps a late flip from a prospect previously committed to a MAC school.

But in 2023, the Hawkeyes were able to benefit from a coaching change at a Big Ten West Rival as former Purdue commit Terrell Washington Jr. announced he was reopening his recruitment after head coach Jeff Brohm left for Louisville. Earlier this week, after taking a weekend trip to Iowa City, Washington changed his commitment to the Hawkeyes.

Today, Washington made it official as he signed his national letter of intent to play football at the University of Iowa.

Washington is a dynamic playmaker from Wylie, Texas. At Wylie East, he was utilized as both a receiver and a running back as a senior, a year after starting at QB. During his senior season, Washington amassed 598 rushing yards on 58 carries (10.3 ypc) and 9 TDs on the ground, as well as 604 yards on 42 receptions (14.4 ypc) and 13 receiving TDs as a senior. That came after rushing for more than 1,100 as the team’s QB his junior season.

The expectation is that Iowa will similarly utilize the dynamic playmaker as a sort of hybrid RB/WR, somewhere between passing down back and slot receiver. We saw a bit of Arland Bruce in that role a year ago, but he was limited by the lack of depth around him at WR. With a full compliment of receivers on the depth chart heading into 2023 and capable every down backs in the backfield, Washington has the potential to finally be that hybrid playmaker we’ve seen in high powered college and NFL offenses in recent years.

Washington, whose father, Terrell Washington, Sr., was a defensive end at the University of Illinois, starting in 2000 and 2001, including winning the 2001 Big Ten Championship, is expected to graduate in December and enroll at Iowa in January.

The Hawkeyes have three existing RBs on the roster and are expected to sign one other running back in the class of 2023, Florida native Kamari Moulton. With just five backs in total for 2023, both Moulton and Washington will have an opportunity to carve out a role in what is being pitched as an improved offense from what we saw in 2022.

Welcome aboard, officially, Terrell Washington, Jr!

Terrell Washington, Jr., RB
Ht: 5’10”
Wt: 185 lbs
Hometown: Wylie, TX (Wylie East)
Stars: 247 Sports - 3; Rivals - 3
Commitment Post: Terrell Washington Commits to Hawkeyes