In week one against West Virginia, Penn State football’s Elliot Washington II made a name for himself.

With under three minutes remaining in the game, the sophomore cornerback pressed his opposing receiver going vertical and when Washington turned his head, he was right there for the interception to seal the road victory.

“I forced them out of bounds, he came back into play, and all I heard was ‘ball’ from the sideline, and I looked up and it was right there,” Washington said in his first media availability of the season Wednesday.

The Venice, Florida, native has seen an increase in playtime as he got his first start since his first career interception. Washington now has three pass deflections to go with his interception this season.

“It’s been a blessing,” Washington said. “I’m just happy I’m actually out on the field getting an opportunity to start and have fun.”

“It was amazing just to see my name [on the video board] and my name getting called. It was a blessing, for sure,” Washington added.

Washington was a four-star safety coming out of high school and committed to the Nittany Lions in July 2022.

As a freshman, Washington appeared in 10 games as a special teamer and spent most of his time learning from and observing starters Kalen King, Daequan Hardy, and Johnny Dixon. Hardy and King were both selected in last spring’s NFL Draft, while Dixon ran out of college eligibility.

“I would say, more of just picking their brains, picking Kalen’s brain,” Washington said. “It was helpful because they’ve been here, they know how the game goes. So, it’s more of them teaching me how to slow it down, and I think that helped a lot.”

With King, Hardy, and Dixon gone, Penn State brought in Jalen Kimber from Florida and A.J. Harris from Georgia to fill the holes. With two new faces in the room, and Cam Miller returning after starting in the Peach Bowl, the starting positions were wide open.

Washington said the competition in the cornerback room this offseason not only helped him but the room as a whole and said he learned a thing or two from Kimber and Harris.

“It was more of like, ‘OK, we got two more guys coming here. It’s going to be more of a talented room,'” Washington said. “I’m going to learn from [A.J.] and pick [Kimber’s brain] too. So, it was a plus for sure.

Although Washington has his first start under his belt, he still has an important role as a special teamer. Washington is on the kickoff, punt, and punt return teams and admitted that while he didn’t see the value in playing special teams coming into college, he now does.

“It’s more just me embracing that I’ve got to play special teams because last year I played special teams,” Washington said. “So this year, I already knew it was going to be a big role for me.”

Then Nittany Lions host UCLA for the first time in nearly 57 years on Saturday. It’s the first time Penn State will play one of the four newest additions to the Big Ten, but to Washington, it doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the ball.

“I feel like we’re the best secondary in the nation, for sure,” he said.