STILL A BULLDOG
Cedartown linebacker Washington makes UGA choice official
Sitting in front of a room full of family, friends, teammates and coaches, senior CJ Washington smiled every now and then but let Cedartown head football coach Jamie Abrams do the talking.
The 6-foot-1 four-star linebacker hasn’t had to do much talking in his days as a Cedartown Bulldog. His actions, both on and off the football field, have spoken for themselves.
As a matter of fact, so much so that he committed to play for the University of Georgia before his junior season and, surrounded by family, signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, Dec. 15, solidifying his collegiate choice.
“Getting a scholarship and signing an NLI in the class of 2022 is a very difficult thing when you talk about the age of transfer portals and the sheer number of athletes that people know about now. It’s not an easy task. So it’s a great accomplishment,” Abrams said.
Washington has been a standout for the Cedartown Bulldogs throughout his high school career, playing football and basketball, and participating in track and field for most of that time.
An all-around talent on the football field, Washington has been a weapon on offense and defense. He was named the Region 7-4A Athlete of the Year for his junior season and was recently named the Region 7-4A Player of the Year following his senior campaign.
Washington had 42 tackles, 17 quarterback hurries, seven sacks, and three tackles for loss. On offense, the bruising running back rushed 137 times for 1,032 yards and 14 touchdowns and caught three passes for 63 yards and another score.
Abrams thanked the crowd for being at Wednesday’s ceremony to celebrate Washington’s accomplishments, but thanked his parents for always being there for him and making sure he was always at practice.
“It’s hard to get better. And it’s hard to improve at a sport, especially a sport like football. You don’t just walk in the door and you’re good. Most of the time that doesn’t happen. There’s a process involved,” Abrams said.
Washington was a part of Cedartown’s return to the state high school football stage, helping the Bulldogs win the 2020 Region 7-4A title — the team’s first since 2001 — and then repeating as region champs in 2021 on the way to advancing to the Class 4A state semifinals.
Through Abrams, Washington wanted to pass on a message to the young players on the football team who still have time at Cedartown.
“It seems like this day is a long way away as you’re a freshman or an underclassman. However, you have to take care of your business and take care of the things that you need to take care of, like being in the classroom, first because if CJ didn’t have the grades … he wouldn’t be doing this,” Abrams said.
“So the grades, showing up at practice, all those times in the weight room, making test scores. All that stuff is important.”