EDGARD — When recent news reports came out that former West St. John linebacker Darzil Washington had been invited to the Seattle Seahawks’ rookie camp last week, a lot of River Parishes folks might have said, “who?”

Former Rams coach Robert Valdez understands.

“He’s not a household name,” said Valdez, now the head coach at St. James High. “Darzil’s story is not one that goes from page one to page two. Darzil’s story is more like Star Wars. It goes all over the place and you just have to wait for the next episode to come out every once in a while.”

Washington certainly took a circuitous path to his shot at an NFL career.

A native of Edgard, Washington attended Hahnville High School as a junior then transferred to West St. John as a senior. Coming in late and joining a roster of notable athletes such as Austin Howard and Ronnie Fiest, Washington got overshadowed. Plus, Valdez said, he didn’t quite know where to put him.

“He played inside linebacker, outside linebacker. We tried him all over the place,” Valdez said. “He wasn’t really big enough to be a defensive end and he was kind of little to be a linebacker. He was a tweener. He just had to find his niche.”

Washington earned first team All-District honors his senior year in 2012. He had 123 tackles, including 30 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, five forced fumbles and three interceptions, two for touchdowns. He also was high on the recruiting lists.

He signed out of high school with Texas A&M, but Valdez said he wasn’t happy there after a redshirt season.

“It wasn’t what he thought it would be,” Valdez said.

Valdez convinced him to look at Hawaii

“Why not go play in paradise?” Valdez said. “He took a trip there and signed, but never went to school there. I guess that was just too far for a Louisiana boy.”

Instead, Washington spent one year at Eastern Arizona Junior College in Arizona and another at East Los Angeles College in California. The latter was cut short by an injury.

He finished his junior college career with 32 tackles and six sacks.

In 2014, he finally landed at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette  — his sixth school in six years.

“(Former assistant) Coach Timmy Rebowe had recruited him out of high school and really loved him,” Valdez explained. “He got him to go to ULL, but they made him no promises. They told him he would have to compete.”

It was a struggle. Washington’s first season was noted for his lack of football shape and a lengthy benching while clearing academic hurdles.

By his senior season, he was all caught up. As a 6-foot-3, 243-pound senior, Washington played in nine games, recording 17 tackles and two sacks. He had a season-high seven tackles, including a sack, against South Alabama.

Washington’s long journey now has taken him to Seattle, where he took part in the Seahawks’ rookie mini-camp, which ended Sunday. One summary on the team’s web site called him out by name, reporting he had “seemed to get in the backfield a lot.”

Now he has to wait out the results and hope for a roster spot.

Valdez, for one, is rooting for him.

“I’m really happy for him and for his family,” Valdez said. “He’s a very talented kid. He has a lot of athletic ability.