Kevin Washington Jr. (14) piled up 72 tackles last season at FCS Bethune-Cookman. The Miami native also had 6.5 tackles for loss and a sack. (Photo by GoLeathernecks.com)
Editor’s note: This is the third of a four-part series.
By Barry Bottino
Transfer linebacker Kevin Washington Jr. arrived in Macomb with loads of college football experience.
There was two years at Fresno City College in California, including a first-team All-America honor in 2023.
Then Washington piled up 72 tackles last season — including 6.5 tackles for loss — at FCS Bethune-Cookman in Florida.
But it was as a prep player where Washington, a graduate of Miami Central Senior High School, said he built his football foundation.
“Everything is college style — the workouts, the playbook,” Washington said of Central, which has produced dozens of NFL players. “They taught me how to read a playbook. The transition from high school to college was very easy because they ran it like a college program.”
The 6-foot, 225-pound Washington is among four Fresh Faces for 2025 at Western Illinois as selected by Prairie State Pigskin. This series highlights new or returning players stepping into bigger roles at every Illinois FCS program.
While Washington was in the transfer portal, coaches who viewed his tape, including WIU assistant head coach/linebackers coach Brandon Kreczmer, saw the linebacker on a big stage.
“His length and his physicality (stood out),” Kreczmer said of Washington, who worked in fall camp at the middle linebacker spot for WIU. “You could tell watching his film. The first couple of clips were against South Florida, an FBS team. You could see how he used his hands and how physical he was. You could tell he had a lot of instincts.”
When Kreczmer met Washington in person, those instincts were front and center.
“When we sat down and started talking a little bit of defense, I noticed how quickly he was able to pick up our schemes and talk Xs and Os,” Kreczmer said. “You could tell he was a really good student of the game.”
On the field, being a quick learner also has been evident.
“He’s a very coachable kid,” Kreczmer said. “When he makes a mistake, he doesn’t make that same mistake twice.”
As Western rebuilds its defense, which allowed 43 points and 493 yards a game last fall, Washington said the team’s fall practices have been very competitive against the offense, which led the Ohio Valley-Big South Football Association in multiple categories in 2024.
“It’s like a heavyweight battle with the offense, like a chess match,” he said. “It’s not them beating on us or the defense beating on them.”
Here are WIU’s other Fresh Faces to watch this season:
Malini Ti’a, DB
The Sacramento State transfer played in every game last season at nickelback for the Big Sky Conference school and had four starts.
His 26 total tackles on the season included 13 solo stops. Ti’a has added a steady presence in the secondary for WIU.
“He’s just calm,” Kreczmer said. “There’s no wasted movement. But when he makes plays, he isn’t calm. Once he reads and reacts, he’s able to play fast and go make plays.”
Markell Holman, RB
Part of a group of three transfer running backs competing for playing time this season, Holman has showed off his versatility already.
At FCS Saint Francis last season, he rushed for 578 yards and six touchdowns, in addition to catching 20 passes. At 6-1 and 205 pounds, Holman also can be split out of the backfield as a receiver, according to WIU coach Joe Davis.
Aric Johnson, WR
As a redshirt last season, Johnson played in one game. But he was very competitive in fall camp, showing glimpses of the player who caught 30 touchdowns and was a four-time, first-team all-conference player at Kaneland High School.
The 6-1, 210-pound Johnson was part of Western’s first recruiting class under Davis a year ago.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
Find us on social media!
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PSPigskin
Facebook: Prairie State Pigskin
Instagram: Prairiestatepigskin
Blue Sky: PSPigskin
Prairie State Pigskin 
Leave a comment