ATHENS — Senior linebacker Marcus Washington was wearing braces on both wrists this past week. He had sprained them at the same time while lifting weights a few days earlier. When asked if that was a common injury, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Nope,” he said.
At this point, Washington has come to expect the unexpected, and any injury that won’t keep him off the field in 2009 is one he can laugh about now. The shoulder surgery that kept him off the field for the entirety of the 2008 season, however, wasn’t quite as easy to deal with
“I was kind of coming into my own, starting to make a couple of plays, and to get set back like that was rough,” Washington said. “But I guess that’s what life is all about. It’s about perseverance.”
Learning those off-field lessons was Washington’s reward for a year on the sideline. He hurt the shoulder last spring after completing a solid 2007 season in which he appeared in 11 games, including six starts, and had 40 tackles.
Last season was a setback, however, and he spent the majority of the year running non-contact drills with the scout team and working with the other linebackers in the film room. It wasn’t exactly how he had hoped his senior season would unfold, but he said it was far from a wasted year.
“There’s no better teacher than experience, and last year I didn’t get a lot of on-field experience, but I got a lot of film time,” Washington said. “I got to listen in on what the coaches were saying, and I got to watch. I saw the guys out there and see what they do wrong and say, ‘OK, that’s not right, I’ve got to do it this way.’ You learn a lot like that, and I think it’s going to help me this year.”
Now entering his fifth season with the Bulldogs, Washington said he expects the battle for the starting middle linebacker job to be wide open this spring. He’ll likely battle Darryl Gamble and Akeem Dent for the role, but said he’s less concerned about how often he’s playing than he is about how often the Bulldogs are winning. With one final chance to win a championship, Washington said the team’s success remains his top priority.
“I don’t want to focus everything around me because it’s bigger than me,” he said. “Yes, it’s my last year here, but at the end of the day, it’s not about me winning championships, it’s about the team winning championships, and I just want to be a part of a championship team.”
OLD MAN GREEN
On National Signing Day last week, wide receiver A.J. Green got a text from prized recruit Marlon Brown saying he had chosen Ohio State over Georgia. It was a big disappointment for Green, who had given Brown a strong sales pitch to join the Bulldogs to play wideout opposite Green.
A few minutes later, however, Green got another text from Brown saying the first announcement had been a little joke.
“He texted me like five minutes later saying, ‘Psych, man, I’m coming to UGA,’ ” Green said. “I was a little nervous for a minute, but I’m looking forward to him getting here.”
As a true freshman, Green led the SEC in receiving a year ago, but he won’t be the young superstar anymore once Brown arrives. It’s a change in mentality Green said he’s anxious to make.
“Switching roles, turning into a leader,” Green said. “I think I can improve by helping the young guys where I screwed up last year and stuff like that.”
As for Brown, Green said he wouldn’t be too surprised if the receiver out of Tennessee ends up topping many of the big numbers Green posted just a year ago.
“Just watching him on film,” Green said, “when he has the ball in his hands and how he attacks it with yards after the catch, he can do great things.”
TOO SOON TO SAY
Darius Dewberry won’t even be at full speed until June after undergoing surgery on his shoulder, so linebackers coach John Jancek isn’t making any predictions about the senior’s future just yet. Given the potential depth Georgia could have at linebacker, however, a change in positions isn’t completely out of the question, Jancek said.
The Bulldogs are thin at defensive end, and Dewberry’s bulky frame and physical style have been enough to at least have coaches considering a position switch in his senior season. Dewberry saw action in just seven games last year due to a mix of injuries and off-field problems, and will face stiff competition for playing time to open the 2009 season.
“With his body type and the way that he plays the game, he certainly would be a candidate to (move), but I think we have to wait and see how the defensive ends perform this spring,” Jancek said.
E-Mail
Print
Reprint|license
