Fabian Washington attended Bayshore High School in Bradenton, Florida and was a letterman in football, basketball, and track.

In track, he placed third at the Florida State Meet on the 100 meter dash as a junior, despite running the fastest time in the preliminaries.

He went on to start for three years at cornerback at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln before leaving early to become a first round NFL draft selection of the Oakland Raiders (pick 23 in 2005).

He also intercepted 11 passes and broke up another 38 in his three-year career, placing him fourth in Nebraska history in both categories.

Fabian was also named second-team All-Big 12 by the Austin American-Statesman and earned third-team honors from the league's coaches.

Fabian intercepted a pass on his first play as a Husker against Arizona State and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

On October 26, in a game against his former team (the Raiders), Washington recorded a tackle on TE Zach Miller after a catch.

In the wild card game versus the Miami Dolphins, he got one of the four interceptions thrown by Chad Pennington in the 27–9 win by the Ravens.

In the final minutes of a November 22, 2009 home game against the Indianapolis Colts, he sustained a severe left knee injury, and had to be carried off the field.