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20 hours ago (September 10, 2020)
Former Hawkeye standout and current Washington offensive guard Brandon Scherff continues to earn praise from opponents and respect from his peers. On Thursday morning, the Washington Football team announced its 2020 team captains and Scherff was recognized.
He is joined by quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr., defensive back Deshazor Everett, defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and safety Landon Collins.
Scherff, the No. 5-overall pick out of Iowa in the 2015 NFL Draft, signed his franchise tender with Washington back in March. He played on the last year of his five-year rookie contract in 2019 which earned him $12.525 million for the season. The three-time Pro Bowler is expected to make $15.03 million playing on the franchise tag, which would make him the highest-paid guard for this upcoming season.
Scherff is one of the most consistent and dominant offensive linemen in Hawkeye history. During his redshirt senior season, he was named a unanimous All-American and awarded the Outland Trophy, which is given to the best interior lineman in the country. He was also selected first-team All-Big Ten for the second consecutive season, as well as named Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year.
The former Hawkeye standout was recently named to the Big Ten Network’s All-Decade team.
"To understand what an unusual athlete Brandon Scherff was, you have to go back to his high school days when Scherff first gathered a claim as a 6-foot-5, 270-pound quarterback," said BTN's Rick Pizzo. "Throwing for more than 1,100 yards as a quarterback and even rushing for four touchdowns. Scherff eventually switched to the offensive line, ultimately earning a scholarship from his home state school, but that athleticism continued to pay off."
"Brandon Scherff was one of my all-time all freaks guys in terms of super warrior workout guy, but also as an all-around athlete," said Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman. "I think he's one of the ones that seems like if you want to look back and say 'okay, we obviously know that Kirk Ferentz is a brilliant offensive line guy and he's had a ton of success for a long time at Iowa. I think Brandon Scherff really epitomizes that. He was really just a dominant force for them."
The former Hawkeye and Washington will have to work out a long-term deal, but Scherff has made it clear that he wants to remain in Washington.
"“I’m honestly not worried about next year at all,” he said, adding, “I want to retire a Re-" — he caught himself — “a player of the Washington team the rest of my career. So, just got to focus on the small details and get better as a player, as a group, as a team and everything will fall into place," Scherff told the Washington media in August.
The Washington Football Team begin this season this coming Sunday with an early-afternoon home game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
