Pflugerville High Grad's Gloves To College Football Hall of Fame

ATLANTA, GA —Round Rock native and Pflugerville High graduate Casey Washington's has made it to the College Football Hall of Fame, sort of.

On Thursday, the Hall of Fame in Atlanta tweeted a photo the gloves Washington was wearing when he caught the game-winning 2-point conversion for Illinois in last Saturday's 20-18 nine-overtime victory over No. 7 Penn State.

The contest, in State College, Pennsylvania, featured the most overtimes in college football history, and Washington's gloves, the game ball and a few other artifacts from the game have been put on display at the Hall.

Pflugerville re-tweeted news of Washington's place in the Hall with the words "One of Pflugerville's Finest!!"

Washington, a sophomore wide receiver, did not have a catch in regulation during the game. He has 13 catches for 108 yards and no touchdowns this fall for the Illini, who are 3-5 overall, 2-3 in the Big Ten.

But Washington made the biggest play of the season when he caught the game-winning pass from quarterback Brandon Peters in the back of the end zone.

Washington was emotional on the field after the game, and in post-game interviews.

"Honestly, I've never been in a position like that. The first thing that came to me, I actually cried," Washington told WCIA TV. "It just felt good. My team, they stood behind me, no matter what. We did it!"

Washington, who had 42 receptions for 565 yards and five touchdowns as a high school senior for the Panthers, played his first two seasons at Illinois before transferring to Wake Forest this past spring. However, he returned to Champaign ahead of the current season.

Saturday's contest was played in front of a crowd of 105,001 at Penn State's Beaver Stadium, and the University of Illinois reported that 7.4 million people were watching on television when Washington made the catch.

Illinois hosts Rutgers at 11 a.m. Saturday.