TAMPA (Florida Sports Wire) – University of South Florida Head Coach Alex Golesh has named L’Damian Washington as the Bulls’ wide receivers coach.
A former NFL receiver and standout for Missouri, Washington comes to USF from Western Kentucky, where he was named receivers coach and passing game coordinator in January of 2023, and having served as wide receivers coach at Oklahoma in the 2022 season.
“L’Damian has an incredible background in overcoming the adversity he has faced in his life and going on to become a highly successful player and now coach,” Golesh said. “He played the wide receiver position at a high level and his tremendous life story and experience as a motivational speaker will have a positive impact on our players. I am excited to welcome L’Damian to our Bulls family as we build one of the most explosive offenses in college football.”
At Oklahoma (2022), Washington worked with an offense that produced 32.9 points per game and averaged 8.14 yards per reception. His top pupil at OU was Marvin Mimms, who caught 54 passes for 1,083 yards and six touchdowns on the season. Mims averaged just over 20 yards per reception on the year, sixth best in the nation, making him one of the elite deep threats in all of college football.
Before making the move to Oklahoma, Washington worked as the receivers coach for one season at Southern University (2021) and served one season as the director of player development at his alma mater, Missouri (2020). Before joining the ranks of collegiate coaching, Washington was the head coach at West Middle School in Columbia, Mo. for two years.
As a player at Missouri, Washington was a four-year letterwinner for the Tigers. For his career, he totaled 100 catches for 1,735 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Ten of his 15 touchdowns came in his senior year of 2013 when he helped Missouri win an SEC East Championship and posted 50 catches for 893 yards.
Washington graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Missouri.
Washington signed an undrafted free-agent contract with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys in 2014. He played for seven different teams in the NFL from 2014-15. He also played the 2017 season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. Washington's playing career concluded with stints with the Birmingham Iron of the AAF and the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL.
Washington is well known for his perseverance in life after losing both his parents by the age of 15. The Shreveport, La. native has spent time since his graduation from Mizzou sharing his story and inspiring many as a motivational speaker.