Archbishop Spalding's Malik Washington: Meet the record setting QB determined to change Maryland's football legacy

The cornerstone of the Terrapins 2025 Recruiting Class, the Archbishop Spalding quarterback believes that special days are ahead in College Park

After leading Archbishop Spalding to three consecutive MIAA A Conference championships and undefeated 2024 season, Malik Washington (4) will enroll early at the University of Maryland and begin his quest to help transform the school's struggling football program. / John Bowers

By all accounts, Archbishop Spalding’s Malik Washington has had one of the most accomplished and successful football careers in Maryland prep history. He entered his final season this fall unbeaten in conference play with a 21-3 overall record as a two-year starter, including two straight MIAA A championships.

And after a senior year that saw him ranked among the top quarterbacks in the country, he finished as the all-time leading passer in MIAA history,  undefeated in conference play at 25-0 as a three-year starter while elevating the Cavaliers to a top ten national ranking. He’s the first quarterback in league history to win three consecutive MIAA A titles.

Throughout his earlier sophomore and junior campaigns, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound signal caller dazzled as a pocket passer with a tantalizing combination of a rocket release and a soft touch who could swiftly work through all of his progressions. 

He consistently showed the ability to make every throw in the route tree while also launching from various arm angles in scramble mode when flushed out of the pocket. 

His poise, leadership and tight spirals that cut through the air with stunning velocity, combined with a speed, strength and power that also made him a dangerous running threat, Washington was already receiving major college recruiting interest when he served his apprenticeship as the team’s backup during his freshman year in 2021. 

Spalding head coach Kyle Schmitt first saw Washington tossing a ball around during an eighth grade workout, and like most talent evaluators with a discerning eye, could only dream of a freshman with that size and ability showing up at preseason practices already equipped with that level of Division I arm talent.

Archbishop Spalding quarterback Malik Washington, shown releasing a short touchdown pass during the Cavaliers' win over DeMatha early in the 2024 season, has dazzled as a pocket passer with a tantalizing combination of a rocket release and a soft touch who could swiftly work through all of his progressions. / Archbishop Spalding Cavalier Club

But what impressed Schmitt just as much as the evident physical gifts was how Washington comported himself with a welcoming, undeniable presence, along with the fun and competitive swagger he exhibited while scrimmaging against the varsity’s entrenched starters. 

His teammates seemed magnetically drawn to him, even the upperclassmen who could only shake their head and smile when he’d connect on another deep bomb during scrimmages while playfully saying, “Ooooh, we got you on that one.”

“Here was this big, long kid who threw the ball really well, but what really stood out was his presence,” said Schmitt. “He had this rare confidence, this way of connecting with people.”

Schmitt was in the process of building something at Spalding when Washington was an eighth grader. But in order to see what lay ahead, one had to have vision and faith.

For many years, Spalding’s football program was an afterthought, having never won a conference championship in school history. It was better known for basketball, having produced the likes of former NBA player Rudy Gay and current Houston Rocket small forward Cam Whitmore. 

In the eighth grade, Washington was wooed by all of the various prep football powerhouses in Washington, DC and Maryland. His decision to attend Spalding was somewhat of a surprise to those who follow the high school athletic scene in the Mid Atlantic region.

“I was drawn to the family environment at Spalding and could see that the coaching staff was in the process of building something significant,” said Washington. “The pieces were coming together and you could see it developing. I was drawn toward the opportunity of being a part of a team that could deliver the school its first championship, as opposed to going somewhere where that legacy had already been established.”

With head coach Kyle Schmitt waiting with a high-five and a hug, Archbishop Spalding quarterback Malik Washington (4) leaves the field for the final time in his high school football career, after leading the Cavaliers to their third consecutive MIAA A Conference championship. Washington was a perfect 24-0, in his three years as the team's starter, against MIAA competition, including postseason games. / Derek Toney

As a sophomore in 2022, his first year as a starter, he helped deliver that first conference championship as the Cavaliers finished 11-1, completing 59.7% of his passes for 2,979 yards and accounting for 33 touchdowns, 29 through the air and four on the ground.

As a junior, he connected on 62.3% of his throws for 2,093 yards and 21 touchdowns, while running for six more.

And this year, with Spalding finishing 12-0 and achieving its first Top 10 national ranking in school history, outscoring opponents by an astounding margin of 487-34, Washington dazzled again with a 65.3% completion rate, 1,970 yards and 22 passing touchdowns while adding eight more as a runner.

But the numbers were not a true reflection of his dominance. As his team battered every opponent on its schedule this year, Washington was resting comfortably on the sidelines during most second halves, happily cheering on his teammates. 

“Malik has never been into chasing stats, awards or social media clout,” said his mother Kiana Teixeira. “It’s never been about breaking records for him, which he easily could have. He was the most energetic cheerleader on the sidelines during those blowout games, excited that his backup and other teammates were getting some experience, opportunities and exposure. With all of his high school accolades, I’m more impressed with the fact that he wants to be remembered by his friends, coaches, teammates and teachers for simply being a good person as opposed to what he did on the football field.”

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Options from larger, more successful programs did not sway Malik Washington's high school choice nor his decision to commit to Maryland

When Dana Washington, Malik’s dad, saw his son scoop up a baseball in centerfield while playing the game for the first time at the age of seven, unleashing a throw that made it to home base on one bounce, he thought to himself, “OK, he’s different, we might have something here.”

Dana, a former All-County defensive back at Overlea High School, was once a talented youth football player who won a Pop Warner national championship playing for the 11-to-13 year-old Northwood Rams program in Baltimore. 

One of his teammates on that Northwood squad was Tommy Polley, who later starred at Florida State and played in the NFL for the Saints, Ravens and Rams.

Kiana, a financial systems analyst for the Justice Department, grew up playing sports as well as a former cheerleader, softball player and gymnast. 

Malik’s first two years playing organized football yielded zero wins, but he loved the camaraderie with his teammates. Kiana would walk by her young son’s bedroom and find him not only studying his team’s playbook, but drawing up plays on his own. 

The summer prior to Washington’s sophomore year at Spalding, Schmitt, a former offensive lineman at the University of Maryland, decided to revamp the offense to better take advantage of his new starting quarterback’s unique skill set. He spent a few weeks on the road at various colleges that featured explosive spread offenses, studying the nuances and intricacies of their attacks while picking the brains of their respective coaching staffs. 

Spalding’s previous run-heavy offense was scrapped in favor of an aerial attack that relied more on run-pass options and Malik’s ability to spray the ball all over the field to better capitalize on the precocious sophomore’s unique skill set.

Washington received over 20 football scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the country including Colorado, Oregon, Texas A&M and others. Ultimately, he decided to stay close to home and committed to the University of Maryland over the summer.

The Terrapins haven’t won a Big Ten championship since joining the conference ten years ago. Their last league title came in 2001, when they were members of the ACC and coached by Ralph Friedgen. For those that are counting, that’s a 23-year drought.

Malik Washington (right) with Archbishop Spalding quarterback coach Aaron Campbell after a victory the 2024 MIAA A Conference championship game victory. Washington flashed a University of Maryland jersey baring his name and number and later reconfirmed his commitment to the Terps. / Derek Toney

His decision to play in College Park, making him the highest ranked QB to commit to the program during the tenure of head coach Mike Locksley, has not deterred programs like Michigan, Penn State and others from reaching out to see if he’d reconsider their offers.

But Washington is adamant that Maryland is the place for him. In spite of this weekend’s 29-13 loss to Iowa, which dropped the Terps to 4-7 (1-7 in Big Ten Conference play) and knocked them out of a bowl appearance for the first time in four years, he’s delighted to soon be joining the program. 

“Yeah, some schools have reached out trying to flip my commitment, but I know where I want to spend the next few years,” he said. “Maryland has a similar culture to what I saw at Spalding. I really believe in what Coach Locksley and his staff are building. I think they’re only a few pieces away from turning the program around and making it nationally relevant.”

“I want to experience that, doing it in my home state and being with a bunch of great guys to help establish a new identity and legacy as opposed to being somewhere where it’s already been done,” Washington continued. “I welcome that challenge.”

His father, who spent ten years in the military after high school and currently serves as the director of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Baltimore City, also sees the similarities and is excited to watch his son at the next level.

“It’s been really cool to watch his growth and maturation over the last few years, to watch that team grow together as he grew, with a will to win and an expectation of winning after that first championship his sophomore year,” said Dana. “And to see those guys elevate a program that was once an afterthought, to becoming one of the top ranked teams in the country, that was special.”

“When he got to Spalding, Malik would say, ‘They think we can’t, but I believe that we can,’” said Kiana. “Everything that they accomplished as a group, he spoke it into existence early on. He’s going to Maryland with that same mentality.”

“That challenge is driving him,” she continued. “He’s excited about going to a program that’s not established as a major player on the college level. He has a sincere desire, when his college career is over, to be a part of that building process and to leave the program in better shape than it was when he found it.”

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Taking pride in a high school career which exceeded every goal

In the waning moments of the MIAA A Conference championship game on the evening of Saturday, November 16, a 31-7 win over McDonogh, Washington was pulled from the lineup and greeted by thunderous applause from the packed bleachers as he jogged towards the sideline after closing out his prep career with three touchdowns - two passing and one rushing.  

He embraced Schmitt, hugging him tightly and simply told his coach, “Thank you.” 

In the euphoria of the post-victory celebration, Washington said, “I’m so proud of my team, I couldn’t have done it by myself. My team, my coaching staff, they were here for me every step of the way. Nobody in Maryland has beaten Archbishop Spalding as long as I’ve been starting.”

Malik Washington and Archbishop Spalding head coach Kyle Schmitt share a warm embrace after Washington's departure from the 2024 MIAA A Conference football championship game. The Cavaliers defeated McDonogh, 31-7, for their third consecutive league crown. / Derek Toney

Appearing on the Under the Shell podcast a few days after the win, Schmitt said, “[Malik’s] a pure student of the game. Situationally, he takes a ton of pride in that. We had a drive on Saturday night, we call it the ‘Slow the Clock’ offense. We’re up 24-7 and I told the guys, ‘It’s a championship drive right now.’ And we ate about seven minutes off the clock, finished with a touchdown and he understands that’s what it took.”

“There were games this year where he threw the ball under 20 times, and we had, I think, the best quarterback on the east coast,” Schmitt continued. “But the game plan was, ‘We don’t need to throw the ball 40 times. We had the best defense in the state, you know, we’re going to choke people out. And Malik just wants to win.”

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Malik Washington is already hard at work preparing for his college football career

A week after the Cavaliers third straight conference title, Washington woke at 8:30 am for the drive out to College park with his mom to watch the Terps take on the University of Iowa at SECU Stadium. 

Once on campus, he popped into the 10,000 square foot dining area in Jones-Hill House, the school’s sparkling football facility. While consuming a hearty plate of chicken and waffles, scrambled eggs and hash browns, he talks football with some other recruits and members of the team’s coaching staff.

Taking in the action after the early afternoon kickoff, he’s just not rooting for his future teammates. He’s dissecting and processing every offensive play, every possession, every audible, every route, every blocking scheme.

“While watching the game, I’m visualizing how I can see myself fitting in,” said Washington. “I’m looking at what plays they’re running on each down and distance, the coverage that the defense is executing from a wideview and figuring out the best way to attack it.”

Not only a student in the film room, Washington, who enjoys reading science fiction  in his spare time like the dystopian novel “Unwind” and the Percy Jackson series to feed his active imagination, is an honor roll student with a 3.7 GPA.

In addition to his exploits on the gridiron, he was named to the All-MIAA “A” Conference Basketball Team and selected as the Baltimore Sun boys Athlete of the Year last year thanks to his prowess as a scoring, passing, rebounding small forward and defensive menace that also played AAU hoops on Nike’s hyper-competitive, national EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) summer circuit for Baltimore’s Team Melo.

Far more athletic than your average quarterback, Malik Washington has been a basketball star at Archbishop Spalding and on the powerhouse Team Melo AAU squad. In addition to his football opportunities, Washington has drawn interest from major college basketball programs as well. / Ty Akimoto

“Assistant coaches from major basketball programs reached out to us, asking if he’d consider playing hoops in college,” said Teixeira. “They said if he did, they’d seriously recruit him.”

When asked if he might entertain the thought of doing what Donovan McNabb and Ronald Curry did years ago at Syracuse and North Carolina, respectively, as star quarterbacks that also suited up and played college basketball, Washington smiles and shakes his head.

“I love basketball and had so much fun playing, but that workload would be too much,” said Washington. “I’ll come back to Spalding to root for my guys this season, but I’m putting all my chips in on football. That’s where 100% of my focus will be.”

He’s anxious to enroll at Maryland in late January after graduating early and getting his first taste of the college game during spring ball.

His mom is experiencing some anxiety as well, for another reason.

“That’s my first baby,” said Kiana. “For the last 19 years, he’s been with me almost every day. It’s going to be very difficult to let go as he leaves the nest to start this next chapter. He won’t be too far away but that doesn’t mean that I won’t miss having him here, eating up all the food and just watching his awesome interactions with his little brother who absolutely adores him.”

Kiana Teixeira, Malik Washington's mom, has been side-by-side for every moment of her son's athletic journey. "It’s going to be very difficult to let go as he leaves the nest to start this next chapter," she said. / Photo Courtesy of Kiana Teixeira

“I’m looking forward to watching him continue to grow, not only as a quarterback but as a person and a man,” said Dana. “Malik doesn’t suffer from an identity crisis. There'll be pitfalls out there but I’m not worried about him falling in with the wrong crowd. His leadership and maturity level is through the roof. He’s a humble, happy, driven young man that can relate to all types of people, from the garbage man to the littlest kid. He’ll bump his head from time to time as all college kids do, but he’ll figure it out.”

“It’s going to be an adjustment, but I’m ready for it,” Washington said when asked about leaving home. “At some point you gotta step out into the world. That’s just a part of life.”

But before he does so, he has one last commitment on the prep level. 

On Saturday, January 11, he’ll be competing in the prestigious 2025 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, the nationally televised showcase that has produced 593 NFL Draft picks, 93 Super Bowl champions, 247 Pro Bowl selections and 18 Heisman Trophy finalists over its 25-year history.

“This is my last hurrah on the high school level before football transitions from a game to a business from here on out,” said Washington. “After that, it’s on to College Park to start the next chapter. I’m going to make sure that I represent myself the best way possible, in the classroom and on the field. And I’m going to align myself with people that have similar goals.”

Speaking of goals, he doesn’t mention winning the starting job right away, being named the Big Ten’s Rookie of the Year or anything of that nature.

“Nothing I’ve accomplished up until this point matters,” said Washington. “I’m going up there to earn the respect of my teammates and coaches while starting from ground zero. I’m going to compete and learn as much as I can, as fast as I can, pushing myself to do whatever I can in order to see the field. But the very first and most important step is earning that respect. And we’ll just go from there.”