Malik Washington is turning heads at Maryland 2025 Fall Camp
Competition is high within Maryland's quarterback room, but make no mistake—that does not seem to bother freshman quarterback Malik Washington. He embraces it and is confident he has the skills to be the starter in week one against Florida Atlantic on August 30th.
Who wants to be a starting quarterback? These three (L to R) - Malik Washington, Justyn Martin, and Khristian Martin - are the leading contenders for Maryland. We’ll know the winner in a month’s time. pic.twitter.com/AONhedviaV
— George Gerbo (@Gerbo3) July 30, 2025
Head coach Mike Locksley spoke on the Big Ten Network Monday evening, saying this about the battle between the three-quarterback room of Washington, Justyn Martin and Khristian Martin:
“The competition is still on pace. We feel very comfortable that all three of those guys are capable. Obviously, Malik comes in much heralded and as advertised. We have had opportunities to watch and see him at times. We just got to get into some scrimmage situations, which I think is practice 11, the first time we scrimmage."
When asked about Locksley's decision to wait to name a starter until the week of the first game, and what the overall mentality is like facing that, Washington had this to say to Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun, saying;
"Not super. It’s what comes with it. It’s what I do coming in. No matter where you go in life, it’s always going to be a competition, and you kind of got to wait to see who wins in the end. But whoever wins in the end, we’re all just super excited for.”
Despite the starting quarterback job being at for grabs, its clear the quarterbacks support each other no matter what and want to see each other succeed,.
Jake Butt of the Big Ten Network got a chance to visit Washington after Tuesday's practice, reiterating the same stances that his teammates had on the youngster stating;
"Some players just “get it”. That’s Malik. Physically gifted, yes, but carries himself with intelligence, charisma, and humble leadership already. Easy guy to root for and seems safe to assume he will experience much success in his career."
Some players just “get it”. That’s Malik. Physically gifted, yes, but carries himself with intelligence, charisma, and humble leadership already. Easy guy to root for and seems safe to assume he will experience much success in his career. https://t.co/94D2GJAhvf
— Jake Butt (@Jbooty88) August 5, 2025
I believe even if Washington doesn't begin the season as the starting quarterback, he'll eventually get a chance to play this year since, among the three quarterbacks, only Justyn Martin, the transfer from UCLA, has seen playing time, appearing in three games with the Bruins last season. There are bound to be growing pains among the group that will go into the development of each quarterback.
Today, Washington was held out of most of the practice due to a lower-body issue that he was trying to be careful with and described as "nothing too major".
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.