Washington on display under the lights
LATROBE 鈥� He was on display once again Friday night for all of downtown Latrobe to see:
n Rookie wide receiver James Washington beating Cam Sutton out of the slot with a quick move inside for the score in Seven Shots.
n Washington wide open for the bomb past experienced NFL vet Dashaun Phillips to haul in Joshua Dobbs鈥� long throw.
n Washington contorting his body in the end zone to catch the back-shoulder fade from college teammate Mason Rudolph.
That was just one night.
The day before that, Washington beat Brian Allen across the middle, reached back for a Dobbs pass, juggled it forward, kept his stride as he secured it, and ran 20 yards for the score.
The day before that, Washington leaped high above converging DBs Sutton and Allen to pluck a ball at its apex.
And the day before that 鈥� well, you get the picture.
The rookie can play this game. He might not possess the size and speed of Martavis Bryant before him, but Washington has sneaky deep speed, is going to be where he鈥檚 supposed to be, and he鈥檒l make the catch almost every time.
The second-round pick is in fact the perfect replacement for Bryant on a team that鈥檚 looking for a third receiver. The media are already marking his name down in that spot on the depth chart.
鈥淵eah, well, you plug whoever you want to plug in,鈥� Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner countered with a raised eyebrow. 鈥淩ight now he鈥檚 just trying to get better every day. We鈥檒l keep evaluating that.鈥�
Fichtner isn鈥檛 plugging anyone into anything just yet. The Steelers are looking hard at Justin Hunter as their third. They鈥檝e always liked Darrius Heyward-Bey. Marcus Tucker shows JuJu-like toughness in the slot. They鈥檙e all in the hunt for Bryant鈥檚 old job, particularly with Eli Rogers injured.
But coaches are also more likely to put up a stop sign whenever the media鈥檚 rounding third base with their hype is out of control. Fichtner did that. So Ben Roethlisberger was asked to break the tie.
Should the media keep Washington as the designated No. 3 receiver? Or should they listen to Fichtner and his dull, albeit sound, logic?
鈥淚 would listen to the OC,鈥� said Roethlisberger. 鈥淚t鈥檚 early. You try not to get too high with the highs 鈥� the good catches, the good plays 鈥� and you try not to get too low with the lows 鈥� jumping offsides, lining up wrong, things like that.
鈥淪o, you take all of that with a grain of salt because he鈥檚 a young guy. What you want to see is growth, you want to see improvement, and I think you see that. I think, as with any young guy that comes in this league, conditioning. You鈥檝e just got to get your wind and get ready to go.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 better than most,鈥� Roethlisberger concluded. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 up to what I would call our wide receiver standards.鈥�
Oooohhhh, a shot across the bow, seemingly about conditioning.
On the bright side, the quarterback wants his young receiver to keep his nose to the grindstone, and Washington can do that. He鈥檚 a humble farmer who went home to his father鈥檚 鈥� James Washington Senior鈥檚 鈥� home, their farm, in Stamford, Texas, after Washington had concluded spring practices in Pittsburgh.
And it was hot. Really, REALLY hot.
鈥淭he hottest it got when I was there was 117 one day, and that was smokin鈥� hot,鈥� said Washington. 鈥淭hat was like at 2 o鈥檆lock in the evening. It starts getting hot at 10 a.m. when it鈥檚 already in the nineties.鈥�
So Washington gets up at 6 a.m., gets the work done, and gets he and his 66-year-old father out of the oven. It鈥檚 how he鈥檚 conditioned himself over the years.
鈥淲ork on the farm, run a few routes, run a couple sprints at the high school, work on fundamental things,鈥� Washington said.
He didn鈥檛 lift. Washington focused on band work to 鈥渒eep my joints and ligaments intact. I didn鈥檛 try to constrain myself.鈥�
And that might be an intelligent decision, because his hands are plenty strong. Whether that鈥檚 from a lifetime on the wheat and cotton farm, or whether he鈥檚 just 鈥渃ountry strong鈥� with big hands that require 3XL-sized gloves, Washington appears plenty strong enough on the field.
鈥淗e鈥檚 like JuJu,鈥� said slot cornerback Mike Hilton. 鈥淗is combat catches are very good. He鈥檚 very strong with his hands. He might not have the quickness of a normal receiver, but the way he can snatch the ball out of the air and just make plays, he鈥檚 going to help us out.鈥�
No doubt that lack of timed speed (4.54) caused Washington to fall to the bottom of the second round after piling up 4,472 yards (19.8 avg. per catch) and 39 touchdowns in his college career at Oklahoma State. No one in college football last season had more career touchdowns.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a very good deep-ball threat,鈥� said cornerback Joe Haden. 鈥淗e reacts to the ball very well in the air. And the same thing (as with Terrell Edmunds): I really like these young dudes. They don鈥檛 talk much. They just go to work. They just try to get it done. That鈥檚 what you want from rookies. You want them seen on the field but not heard from. He鈥檚 working his tail off and I think he鈥檚 going to be good, too.鈥�
Washington is pleased with the improvement he鈥檚 making. In fact, he鈥檚 secure enough to appreciate Antonio Brown鈥檚 call for Dez Bryant to join the Steelers last week.
Bryant, is, after all, Washington鈥檚 model. Bryant鈥檚 the reason Washington went to Oklahoma State, and he says bring Bryant to Pittsburgh, too.
鈥淎nything to help this team win,鈥� Washington said. 鈥淚 mean, whatever they gotta do, they should do.鈥�
If you were to ask the media, what the Steelers gotta do is put Washington on the field as the No. 3.
In fact, they鈥檙e writing it down.