An incredible photo of offensive lineman Byron Washington out of DeSoto High School in Texas quickly went viral following the team's dominant 74-14 victory in the Class 6A Division II state championship game Saturday.
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After one look at the stop-you-in-your-tracks photo, it would be impossible not to wonder how this is possible for a high school football player to look — or if it's even real.
The "kid" honestly looks as if he's playing with a doll in the now-famous photo. And, yes, it is very real and not a Photoshop version that many of us understandably presumed from the outset.
Meet 6-foot-7, 380 pound OT Byron Washington from Desoto High School.
Byron makes the competition look like INFANTS.
Somehow, he is the 709th nationally rated recruit.
Texas is currently the favorite to land him. pic.twitter.com/6UnqmCKKfn
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) December 18, 2023
Washington is officially listed at a whopping 6-foot-7 and 380 pounds. Yet, as the above post on X mentions, the young fellow is somehow only the 709th nationally rated recruit. Given his size alone, one would think the monster — who would probably make pro wrestler Brock Lesnar look like a pebble — would be much higher on the list just given the obscene amount of real estate he takes up on the offensive line.
If weight were a concern, surely plenty of blue-chip schools would consider that something they could easily fix. After further review, that actually appears to be the case. Despite the modest ranking, Washington already reportedly has offers from Texas, Oregon, Arizona State and TCU.
#TXHSFB world meet 2025 DeSoto LT Byron Washington, a 6'7, 360-pound monster who has offers from TCU, Texas, Arizona State and Oregon. @FootballDesoto | @ByronWash25 pic.twitter.com/MwOtxrQJzd
— Greg Powers 🏟️ (@GPowersScout) August 26, 2023
In fact, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has been all over the Byron Washington hype train since late July, as an official offer was acknowledged by the big man himself.
All Glory to God, I am blessed to receive an offer from @TexasLonghorns Thank you @CoachSark @KJJFlood @CoachGat3wood @iCoachTheHAWGS @Cbowen90 @CoachSweeny @FootballDesoto @TXRecruits
‘HookEm🤘🏾 pic.twitter.com/NFlloRXKMG— Byron A. Washington (@ByronWash25) July 27, 2023
The more photos of Washington that continue to make the rounds, the more it seems impossible not to see this mammoth human throwing some people around in the Southeastern Conference come 2025.
Leon Brigham (No. 58) is 6-1, 303.
Byron Washington (76) is 6-8, 380. #txhsfb is just different. #desoto #desotou #desototx #statechamps #backtoback #uilstate #texas #football pic.twitter.com/DaY62ExYVj
— Dave Campbell's Texas Football — TexasFootball.com (@dctf) December 18, 2023
The Longhorns will be in the SEC next year, so that could very well become a reality for the Texan — and possibly a nightmare for everyone else. But, assuming some of these photos have already landed on the desks of coaches across all of college football, there's plenty of time for numerous schools to throw their respective hats into the ring.
For now, though, all we have is time — specifically, in the meme realm. This one in particular is so on the nose it deserves some kind of award.
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, by Marc Chagall, 1963, 📸 by @w1llkombe pic.twitter.com/6vwFox7hXI
— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) December 18, 2023
Oh, and by the way: The player he is holding up — the way Marvel Comics supervillain Thanos might — is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds. Not exactly a peanut on the football field by any means.
Desoto (Texas) High School offensive lineman Byron Washington is 6-foot-8, 360 pounds. He's a junior. He is blocking Summer Creek High School defensive end Kaleb Walker ... WHO IS 6-FOOT-3, 210 POUNDS. pic.twitter.com/oOrIZgLams
— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) December 18, 2023
Perhaps the most underrated element of the viral photo is that No. 11's last name cannot be seen — and, honestly, that's probably for the best.
Finally, this would hardly feel complete without video of Byron Washington standing next to an ordinary human.
Truly remarkable. Keep in mind, Washington is the part of the 2025 recruiting class. Plenty of time for more obscenely dominant photos to come.
