Bishop Gorman's Jett Washington lowers boom on Aquinas' Richard Compton, who hangs on, shrugs

Washington, a 4-star safety, drew a questionable flag on the play, while Compton drew cheers

Bishop Gorman's Jett Washington, a 2026 prospect, already has 21 college offers. / Photo by Lance Smith, SBLive

Richard Compton 1, Jett Washington 0.

Early in the nationally televised Bishop Gorman (Nevada) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) high school football game Saturday on ESPN, Gorman's Washington lowered the boom on Aquinas' Compton.

Compton hung on, hopped up and signaled first down, while Washington had to wonder what he had to do not only to jar the ball loose, but to not draw a flag.

The hit looked clean (although very hard), as Washington led with his shoulder, but the refs ruled Compton was a defenseless receiver. You make the call:

Jett Washington lays the BOOM 💥 @JettWash

The No. 17 player in the ESPN Jr. 300 can do it all on the field‼️

pic.twitter.com/eJAajW3VZ1

— Billy Tucker (@TheUCReport) August 24, 2024

Compton looked anything but defenseless when he popped up, and just a couple of plays later — after a half-the-distance-to-the-goal penalty — Aquinas scored the first touchdown of the game.

More: Bishop Gorman WR Derek Meadows shows LSU his speed, hands on 41-yard TD catch

Washington, the nephew of Kobe Bryant, told SBLive/SI last week that he's mostly being recruited at safety.

He has more than 20 offers, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Michigan and Oregon. At 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, Washington has the build and athleticism to play on both sides of the ball at the next level.

“Ninety percent of schools are (offering me) at free safety,” Washington said after Bishop Gorman's win over Kahuku last week. “A couple of schools have talked about me playing safety and receiver, but most of them have been safety.”

Compton is a 5-foot-11 senior receiver for St. Thomas Aquinas, and he gained some toughness cred Saturday by shrugging off the biggest hit stick of the first half.

Aquinas leads 14-10 midway through the third quarter of a game that was delayed an hour by lightning and heavy rain.

Live updates: Follow along for live updates from Bishop Gorman at St. Thomas Aquinas

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports