He's still technically a redshirt freshman.

But Darius Washington is in Year 3 as a starting offensive lineman at Florida State. The Pensacola native started three games in 2019 before missing the rest of that season due to injury. Then he followed that up with five starts during the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Now, almost halfway through his third year in the garnet and gold, the West Florida High School alum has become a mainstay on the Seminoles' offensive line.

"I think mentally I've grown a lot just knowing the game," Washington said this week. "I played some my freshman year, played some last year. And to just be able to take that experience and it roll over each year [is a benefit]."

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Washington has been the Iron Man of the Florida State offensive line so far in 2021, and he likely will be again this Saturday at North Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Washington has played all 356 offensive plays through five games -- two more than fellow lineman Dillon Gibbons -- and he's done it at multiple positions.

He played right tackle against Notre Dame and Wake Forest. He played left tackle against Jacksonville State, Louisville and Syracuse. And, with Maurice Smith out with an injury and Baveon Johnson knocked out of the game against Wake Forest for a brief time, he even got a couple of snaps at center.

He often takes reps at all three positions during practice.

While that is not typical, Washington said it hasn't been all that hard switching back and forth.

"I don't think it's really challenging at all," he said. "It's just your focus level when you go to each position. You've got to know when you play right tackle, you see the field differently than when you play left tackle. And when you play center, you've got to be able to know everything.

"So, it's just being able to shift my focus from each position. And when it comes to game time, just knowing that whatever happens, I have to be ready to play whatever."

It can be difficult for fans and media to evaluate how offensive linemen perform, since those players don't earn statistics and teams don't publish players' grades. But the unofficial grades provided by Pro Football Focus can offer a glimpse.

In those three games as a true freshman in 2019, Washington graded out at 45.4 overall (according to PFF) -- only three players on the entire offense had a worse number.

In 2020, after coming back from shoulder surgery, Washington graded out at 61.3 overall in 347 snaps.

In 2021, Washington so far has graded out just below that, but he has made a significant leap in pass-blocking. His grade of 75.6 is only behind Gibbons as the best for an offensive lineman on the team, and it is substantially better than his grade of 60.2 a year ago.

He's older.

And after dealing with some injuries each of his first two years, he's getting stronger.

FSU coach Mike Norvell pointed out that this offseason was the first time Washington has been able to take part in the Seminoles' full strength and conditioning program since he arrived in Tallahassee.

"The strength that he was able to develop in the offseason has really helped him," Norvell said. "I would have to liked for the situation to be that he just played one spot, and that's all that he did. But even within the versatility of what he's had to show -- the number of reps he's had to get at other positions -- to still be as productive as he's being and the confidence that he's playing with -- that's big.

"And it's big for us not only now, but big for his future."

The 6-foot-4, 294-pound tackle says the game has slowed down a lot for him the past two seasons, and he thinks the versatility he's shown this year will help him in the long run.

Which means it will help the team as well.

"I think it will," Washington said. "It just gives me an advantage. ... I can play different positions so it gives me more opportunities to play. And I think as an offensive lineman, if you're able to play multiple positions, you should try, because you can learn so much from each position."

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