‘It’s like a dream;’ An emotional day for Brawley’s Mehkye Washington, signing with Ottawa University

Football standout becomes next Brawley product to continue at the next level

YUMA, Ariz., (KYMA, KECY) - One of the most unpredictable things in the world of sports are the highs and lows that serve raw emotion on any given moment - and when it comes out in young student-athletes, it seems to make a booming impact.

Those are the kind of waves that Mehkye Washington made Friday morning after signing his Letter of Intent to Ottawa University in front of a packed crowd.

The standout football star has dreamed of this moment - working towards the mountain of playing professional football. On Friday, all of the emotions hit him at once while looking at his crowd of support.

"I was just trying not to cry. I was trying to keep myself under control but it's so many emotions," said Washington. "My days have been on repeat since I was five, all the way until now. It's like a dream. It's just the next step from here on out."

Washington received incredible praise from his coaches and Athletic Director Billy Brewer - with "hard working" becoming the common theme throughout the ceremony. His dedication on the field and in the classroom earned him great honors in both, graduating with a 3.8 GPA and several Imperial Valley League honors on the field to go with it.

Coach Jon Self took the time to point out that Mehkye never missed any practice or workout and that he was one of the only ones that put in as much time as he did over the years since Covid - elevating himself to be one of the premiere players on the team and in the Imperial Valley.

Self even noted the only time Mehkye missed anything was when he got so sick during the season, that he insisted on coming back but could not make it through a practice - sidelining him for some time.

Despite that, the numbers were still there - along with the quiet and reserved leadership that he emitted.

Washington finished with a career 923 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns - most of them coming in his senior campaign which earned him Imperial Valley League 1st Team offense and defense.

But off the field, Mehkye is just a young kid making his way through life - impacting everyone he comes in contact with through his personality and character. That's something he gives his family credit for.

"They get all of it. All of the credit," said Washington. "They've been there the whole way. They've done everything they could to make me who I am and I can't thank them enough. It was a lot."

His family being a big reason why some tears were shed after Mehkye thanked the crowd for attending his celebration. At that moment, all the raw emotion came out - and the same goes for his father, Donnell.

"I think that's when it hit me," said Donnell. "It's like 'wow, we are at this moment that we've been working so hard for and these people here have been with us through this whole thing.' It was a special moment. Hopefully the next steps are just as rewarding as the steps we just went through."