Washington Says Eagles, Brooks Says Rams

UPDATED (5:15 p.m.)–—On the eve of leading his first two-a-day practice at Aberdeen High School, football coach Johnny Brooks was busy talking about his former team.

And answering questions about his former players joining the Eagles program.

Brooks, who joins Aberdeen after 13 seasons as the head football coach at Havre de Grace, spoke with Patch after it first reported that former Warriors quarterback Darin Washington had announced via Twitter he would join Brooks at Aberdeen.

Brooks denied that Washington, an all-conference and highly recruited quarterback that led Havre de Grace to the , would be playing for Aberdeen.

“He’s at Edgewood,” Brooks said. “He’s a Ram.”

The Eagles will open practice Saturday at 8 a.m.

Washington in February. There was widespread speculation at Thursday's Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference coaches meeting about where Washington would play in 2011.

Taking a cue from LeBron James in his wording, and following many more professional athletes in using the social media platform to make the announcement, Washington posted on his Twitter account Wednesday: "I'm taking my talents too [sic] Aberdeen high school."

Friday afternoon, tweets from Washington’s Twitter account had become protected.

At Aberdeen, Washington would play for , his cousin, who coached Washington as a freshman and junior at Havre de Grace. Washington played in Georgia as a sophomore.

after the 2010-2011 school year. Longtime Warriors defensive coordinator .

Washington was named as a junior, when he threw for 2,312 yards and 27 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He connected on 156 of 265 passes, for a 59 percent completion rate.

He also ran for nine touchdowns and five two-point conversions.

Washington wouldn’t be the only member of the Warriors state championship runner-up squad to join the Eagles since Brooks changed schools. All-conference left tackle and all-conference two-way lineman will play their senior seasons in Aberdeen as well.

Holloway told Patch on Friday he has transferred, and that Barnes will join him with the Eagles.

Tryouts and practices for fall sports begin Saturday. Both Aberdeen and Havre de Grace will begin their practices at 8 a.m.