Warchant Top 40: Darius Washington projects as starting left tackle, checks in at No. 5

As the summer arrives and temperatures soar into the 90s in Tallahassee, that can only mean one thing for Warchant subscribers: The return of the Warchant Top 40, where we break down the top 40 players on the Florida State football team.

This is not necessarily a listing of the 40 most talented players on the Seminoles’ roster, but the players we believe will have the opportunity and capability to make the biggest impact this season. And this year’s group might have been the most difficult to determine in the decade-plus history of the ranking.

Partly because Florida State has brought in another impressive group of newcomers and partly because the overall roster is so much deeper than in most years, settling in on a Top 40 was exceedingly difficult. But over the next couple of weeks, we will break down each player who made the list and count our way all the way up to No. 1.

This year’s voting panel consisted of Warchant staff members Gene Williams, Ira Schoffel, Corey Clark, Jeff Cameron, Tom Lang, Aslan Hajivandi and Matt LaSerre.

This latest installment is the No. 5 player on the Warchant Top 40 list.

Previous Installments: Players 6-10 | Players 11-15 | Players 16-20 | Players 21-25 | Players 26-30 | Players 31-35 | Players 36-40 |

No. 5 — Offensive lineman Darius Washington

This has been the kind of career Darius Washington has experienced since arriving in Tallahassee in 2019:

When Warchant.com put together its list of the Top 40 players of the 2020 season, the Pensacola native came in at No. 7 when it became clear he would be the starter at left tackle. The next year, after he struggled as a redshirt freshman, he was ranked No. 27 in 2021. Then he moved up to No. 18 in 2022, but fell all the way down to No. 35 on the 2023 list once it became clear he would likely be the top backup at multiple positions, but not a projected starter.

Well, the longtime Seminole is back in the Top 10 with a bullet.

This year, his final year in garnet and gold, Washington cracks the Top 5 and is the highest-rated offensive lineman on the team. Which probably shouldn’t come as a surprise after the season he had in 2023 at left tackle, filling in for the injured Rob Scott.

Fully healthy and much stronger than earlier in his career, Washington became one of the best linemen in the conference and earned first-team All-ACC honors.

And after the spring, head coach Mike Norvell said of Washington: “I think (he) is going to have a chance to be an All-American left tackle. … He’s been remarkable for us.”

High praise indeed for a veteran who has appeared in 47 games so far in his college career.

For most of his career, Washington has been considered a Swiss Army knife-type of lineman. He could fill in at center or guard or either one of the tackle spots. Offensive coordinator/line coach Alex Atkins feels comfortable with Washington playing every single position on the line.

But when Scott was hampered by an injury last season, Washington moved primarily to left tackle (along with a few starts at center). And he flourished, becoming the best lineman on the team. He is now considered one of the anchors of the entire offense heading into 2024.

There are other starting spots on the offensive line that will be wide open in preseason camp. But it would appear that left tackle is locked down by the sixth-year senior — unless, of course, he is needed more somewhere else.

As Norvell talked about last season, when Washington was working at multiple positions in practices and games, it’s hard to overstate just how valuable someone like that is for a football team. Especially someone as good and experienced and mature as Washington.

“There are no words for what he does, and the investment that he makes, because it’s hard,” Norvell said. “To be able to play on the right side and the left side, all of the matchups, it’s an extensive challenge, but it’s one that he embraces. … That’s one of the key figures of our football team.”

And he’s back. Again. For one last season with the Seminoles.

VOTING BREAKDOWN: Gene – 7; Ira – 6; Corey – 7; Jeff – 9; Tom – 2; Aslan – 6; Matt – 5.

Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.

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