Things didn’t go the way Ty Washington wanted them to go at Arkansas. It was never his intention to leave the program, but he was dismissed from the team during last season for what the program labeled “a violation of teams rules”.
It was after the fact when the whole story came out. Washington was struggling with his mental health while his grandmother was in hospice care. He was asked to enter late in a game and told the coaches he couldn’t.
He hoped to better explain himself to head coach Sam Pittman in a meeting after the game, but did not get an opportunity to. Pittman booted Washington from the team.
“If some people want to call me the villain, they can call me the villain. But I think mental health is a strong topic that many people don’t talk about,” Washington said on Friday. “And so like when my grandma passed, was about to pass, my dad, that was his only parent, and that hit me at home.
“I tried to tell them that. Some people have different views on how mental health affects people. I was always raised to be…a shoulder to lean on. Some people believe strapping up a helmet or tying your shoelaces and strapping up your shoulder pads is going to help you get over that and that’s not the case for everybody.”
Mental health is health. It’s not always viewed that way in an old school football setting. It has been at Notre Dame where defensive tackle Jason Onye was away from the team after the fifth game of the 2024 season while dealing with his mental health. Onye was able to return to the team in the spring and both Marcus Freeman and Al Washington spoke openly about how proud they are of the work Onye put in to get back to the team.
Ty Washington arrived at Notre Dame this summer after graduating from Arkansas in the spring. He’s already utilized the resources Notre Dame has to help with mental health and it’s been a great experience to connect with them.
“Perfect,” Washington stated. “I’ve already met with them. They made sure I was okay as soon as I got here. It was perfect. I loved it.”
A major reason why Washington ended up at Notre Dame had to do with his previous strong relationship with offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike Denbrock. At that time Denbrock held the same roles at Cincinnati.
He reached out to Washington immediately when the transfer portal opened and then things fell into place from there.
“I love him. I love Coach Denbrock,” Washington said. “We got a long, long, long history. I love him. I love that man.
“It came down to me going to Arkansas or me going to Cincinnati to be honest,” Washington said about his recruiting process. “(Arkansas tight ends coach) Coach Loggains was a great coach. I loved him. Had a lot in common, but Denbrock definitely was my other choice.
“I didn’t want to take myself to Cincinnati because of the situation that was happening at Cincinnati (with the coaching staff turnover). He hit me up right before signing day but I had signed the paper and he went to LSU and I missed him. But it’s great to be here with him now.”
He’s just getting his feet wet with his new program, but he’s embraced the differences between the programs. The environment with his teammates has been great and he loves being at Notre Dame. While Denbrock admitted it’s still too early to make any statements about what to expect from Washington this year, Denbrock knows Washington is capable of helping the team.
“I think he's got good movement skills. I know he's a tough kid. He''ll put his face on you and play physical,” Denbrock stated. “So, there's certainly a role for him. I think I'll maybe need just a little bit more time to kind of dig into it to see exactly what that's going to be.”
Washington already has a ringing endorsement from one of his new teammates.
“He's going to be a great player,” Eli Raridon said when asked about Washington. “He moves really well. He blocks really well and he's done a great job. We just got to keep learning the offense and getting comfortable with that.”
Choosing Notre Dame wasn’t just about this season for Washington. He has a year of eligibility left after this one, so what he is this season might not tell the whole story of what he will be at Notre Dame.
No matter what happens in the future, he is looking forward to going back and playing against his former program this fall. The Irish travel to Arkansas to play the Razorbacks for an early kickoff on September 27.
“It’s going to be great. I love the guys. I love the fan base,” declared Washington. “Even though it ended badly. I love the fan base and I loved everything that was there. The players, still love the players. Love a few of the players. But it’s going to be great. It’s going to be great.”
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