Yahoo Sports Reports: Nebraska dismisses RB Maurice Washington
Maurice Washington’s time on Nebraska’s football team appears to be officially over.
According to multiple reports Friday, Nebraska dismissed the running back who played part of the 2019 season while still facing a felony child pornography charge. Washington initially turned himself into authorities in February after an arrest warrant was issued and court dates in the case had been moved back throughout the course of the year.
In October, coach Scott Frost said that Washington was not a part of the team and “there’s going to be a lot of things he needs to do to earn his team’s trust back and our trust back” if he wanted to rejoin the team.
It appears those things didn’t happen. From Rivals’ HuskerOnline.com:
From showing up late to team meetings, being caught with possession of drug paraphernalia in a UNL dorm building, to the handling of his current legal situation in California (Washington was apparently unreachable in December to participate in his most recent court hearing over the phone).
As head coach Scott Frost said back in October, there comes a point where you have to just "throw your hands up and say we tried."
And Nebraska tried everything to help this young man. They were the only major program willing to go through the work to get him academically eligible.
The court case against Washington is still pending and was delayed again after that December hearing. Washington has been ordered to appear in court in person on Jan. 10.
Washington rushed for 753 yards in 18 games
Washington had 298 yards and three total touchdowns in seven games in 2019. While he was the Huskers’ fourth-leading rusher, he averaged the most yards per carry (6.0) of any player on the team with more than 25 carries. His last game with the team came on Oct. 12 against Minnesota when he had six carries for 20 yards and a catch for five yards.
The felony charge stems from an alleged incident that happened while Washington was in high school before he came to Nebraska. Washington is accused of having a video of his ex-girlfriend being sexually assaulted by another male on his phone and also is accused of sending that video to her. The female teenager in the video was a minor at the time it was recorded.
Washington was a three-star running back in the class of 2018 and the No. 16 running back in the country. He was part of Frost’s first recruiting class with the Huskers, a class that ranked No. 21 that season.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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