Leon Washington

Leon Dewitt Washington Sr. (born August 29, 1982) is an American professional football coach and former player who is the assistant special teams coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL).

He played in the NFL as a running back and return specialist and made 2 Pro Bowls and 2 All-Pro teams during his career.

Washington holds many kick return records for both the Jets and Seattle Seahawks.

Washington played college football for the Florida State Seminoles.

He became the first true freshman at FSU to record a 100-yard rushing game since Travis Minor in 1997.

He was named ACC Specialist of the Week twice for his performances against Clemson and Duke, he led the Seminoles in rushing in the Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia with 48 yards on 10 carries, he returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score against Clemson, he recovered a blocked punt in the endzone for a touchdown against Duke, and finished the year with 11 tackles on special teams with two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Washington's punt return for a touchdown against Wake Forest was the first by a Seminole since Peter Warrick's 59-yard return against Virginia Tech in the 2000 Sugar Bowl.

He rushed for a season-high 121 yards on 17 carries against NC State, the highest total by a Florida State running back during the season.

After this superlative season, in 2002, he was named "Mr. Florida" in football, and earned the Florida Times-Union Player of the Year honor.

The Orlando Sentinel named him the No. 3 prospect overall in the state of Florida, and Alliance Sports named him the No. 7 prospect overall in the nation.

He was named to the PrepStar Dream Team, rated by Rivals100.com as the No. 1 cornerback in the country and the No. 9 player overall, and rated by TheInsiders.com as the No. 7 cornerback in the country.

He was named the Florida Kids' No. 28 prospect from the state of Florida, named to Bill Buchalter's Florida Super 26, was recognized on the Athlon Sports Top 100 High School Seniors, SuperPrep's Top 100 nationally, and Max Emfinger's Top 200.

He selected Florida State over the universities of Florida, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Maryland.

Washington received an athletic scholarship to attend Florida State University, where he played for the Florida State Seminoles football team from 2002 to 2005.

As a freshman in 2002, he changed positions from cornerback to running back.

That year, he played in all 14 games and ranked fourth on the team with 273 yards rushing while catching six passes for 30 yards.

He led the team with 273 total return yards and also in punt return average (11.5 yards per return) and kickoff return average (28.3 yards per return).

In his sophomore year (2003), Washington played in nine of Florida State's 13 games including the Orange Bowl.

He was the second leading rusher with 387 yards and a 5.2 yards per carry average despite missing four games after dislocating his right elbow in the first quarter of the season opener against North Carolina.

During his junior year in 2004, Washington earned the Gator Bowl Most Valuable Player honors with 12 rushes for a career-high 195 yards in the Seminoles' victory over West Virginia.

His 16.3 yards per rush is a single-game Florida State record while his 195 yards is the second most by a Seminole player in a bowl game.

He earned All-ACC second-team honors and was named as the Seminoles' offensive Most Valuable Player by the coaching staff at the team banquet.

He played in 10 of 12 games while earning 10 starting assignments, leading the ACC in rushing yards per game with an average of 95.1.

In addition, he finished second in the ACC with 112.5 total offensive yards per game, while leading the team with 951 total yards of offense and seven rushing touchdowns.

He ranked second nationally in average yards per carry at 6.89.

His season totals included 14 receptions for 98 yards and four kickoff returns for a total of 81 total yards.

He scored a total of 42 points to rank second on the team behind only kicker Xavier Beitia.

In his senior year season in 2005, Washington played in 11 games and started in 10, missing two games because of an ankle injury he suffered in the Maryland game.

Washington became the only player in the Bobby Bowden era to score touchdowns in five different ways—by run, reception, punt return, kick off return and fumble recovery.

He ranked second on the team in rushing yards (430) with a 4.4 yards per carry average, and averaged 10.7 yards per catch.

Washington returned six punts for 51 yards in the 2005 season and returned four kickoffs for 63 yards.

He led the team in rushing in the Orange Bowl (against Penn State) with 30 yards on six carries, and added six catches for 24 yards in that game.

He was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL draft.

He also played for the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, and Tennessee Titans.

Washington attended Andrew Jackson High School where he proved himself an exceptional all-around athlete, dominating in football as running back, cornerback, and wide receiver.

In his senior year, he rushed for 2,437 yards and 28 touchdowns, was a threat on kick and punt returns, returning three punts and one kickoff for touch-downs, and defensively had 88 tackles (52 unassisted) and three interceptions.

He was the 10th player in FSU history in career rushing with 2,041 yards.

He had a season-high 179 all-purpose yards when he rushed for 87 yards and had 92 yards receiving in the Wake Forest game, including a career-long 61-yard touchdown reception.

He scored the game-winning touchdown in the second overtime against the North Carolina Wolfpack on a 12-yard run to clinch the Seminole's 11th ACC Championship in 12 years as a league member.

Washington rushed for 69 yards on 13 carries in Florida State's victory over Virginia and 65 yards on 15 carries in the Seminoles' victory over Florida.