Ole Miss safety Trey Washington focused on helping the Rebels’ defense improve each day: ‘I’m just trying to be the best player this defense needs’
OXFORD, Miss. –– One of the most consistent Rebels on Pete Golding’s defense this season has been safety Trey Washington.
The senior leads the defense with 42 total tackles and has finished three of this season’s six games with the most tackles. Last month, Washington was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after his 10 total tackles in the win over Georgia Tech.
When Washington was asked recently about his status as the team’s tackle leader, he responded by saying he had no idea until he was recently informed by his teammate Ashanti Cistrunk during a workout.
Trey’s mindset and goals are simple.
“I’m just trying to be the best player this defense needs. Game in and game out we are just looking to improve.”
Ole Miss safety Trey Washington
As Washington reflected on the Rebels’ last game, a 27-20 win over Arkansas, he was complimentary of his defense who only gave up 36 rushing yards and 20 points to the Razorbacks. Trey, himself, led the defense with 10 total tackles.
“I think one thing we did better (against Arkansas) is we made plays and we took advantage of the plays that came to us, like the pick. One thing we can do better is execution in between plays,” Washington added.
Though Trey has had a number of dominating performances, he made sure to credit Liberty transfer Daijahn Anthony when he was asked about him. Anthony, who has been a problem for opponents in coverage this season, has five pass deflections — more than any of his previous seasons at Liberty — along with 23 tackles, one forced fumble, and one interception.
Between Anthony and Washington, the Ole Miss secondary is starting to stand out as one of the more physical and successful groups on this team. Washington talked about how good Anthony has been thus far.
“He’s been elite since fall camp. He’s been elite in workouts and everything, I’m not surprised at all with how he’s performing. He comes every day to work and usually the guys that come every day to work leave a good result and he’s one of those guys.”
Trey Washington on Daijahn Anthony
As the Rebs went through their bye week, Washington said they would be focusing a lot on the mistakes they need to correct. He referred to having a bye week in the middle of the season as the “sweet spot,” as it allowed maximum time for full recovery and preparation for Auburn.
In regards to an evaluation of the defense halfway through the season, Washington has been pleased with how the Rebs have handled adversity and shown improvement on a weekly basis.
“I think we are on schedule. We are looking to improve and I’m confident in this defense. I think we have a lot of people across the room that are performing well.”
Trey Washington
Ole Miss and Auburn kick off at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, October 21 in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
