West Virginia WR coach Washington looks to use background to build up
Tony Washington didn’t set out to be a college football coach.
The one-time standout wide receiver at Appalachian State majored in building science with a concentration in construction management and architecture during his time in Boone, North Carolina.
That wasn’t by accident, he had every intention of designing houses and building buildings for a living.
In fact, prior to his senior season Washington had started the process of applying to graduate schools for architecture because the thought of playing in the NFL was far-fetched at the time.
“I had kind of given up on the NFL dream. I was kind of focusing on what was next,” he said.
Being at an FCS school that goal did seem somewhat far-fetched but then he received word that perhaps a shot at the pros wasn’t as much of a long shot as he had initially imagined.
He finished his senior season with a bang on the field and after appearing in the Senior Bowl got his chance as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts. He would go on to spend most his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars and after dealing with injuries in back-to-back seasons his wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan made a suggestion to him.
Washington should get into coaching
“He was the first person that put that in my heart and said I should do it,” Washington recalls.
It wasn’t a dream of his from the start, but Washington had an epiphany that he wanted to spend his life around the game of football. So, while he never thought he’d be in this position, the former wide receiver got into the college coaching ranks largely helped through contacts he had made along the way.
“I realized the game was in me and I didn’t want to leave it alone. I didn’t want to sit at a desk and crunch numbers so I decided to get back into coaching,” he said.
Washington would begin his career as a graduate assistant at Louisville before being hired as the wide receivers coach at Costal Carolina. After two productive seasons leading that group, West Virginia hired him to serve in the same position. It was a fast-track, but one that has been fulfilling.
Now, while Washington isn’t necessarily building houses he is in charge of the construction of a West Virginia wide receiver room that is looking to take the next step. Overall, there is talent mixed with some experience and upside, but there’s work to be done.
“The biggest thing is just hammering down the details and hammering down the fundamentals of the position. You got guys that can do some amazing things and it’s the consistency key that I think is it. Everybody is talented, that’s why they’re here but it’s who can be that talented guy every time they’re out there,” Washington said.
The position coach emphasizes winning at the line of scrimmage on a consistent basis and while his players have the quickness and footspeed to do so, it’s being able to do it over and over that will truly set them apart if they want to take that next step.
It should come as no surprise given his background that a building metaphor is appropriate to describe his philosophy when it comes to teaching the position.
“A guy is not going to come and try to do a job with just a hammer, that’s one move, that’s one technique. You’ve got to have a hammer, you’ve got to have a screwdriver, you’ve got a wrench you’ve got to have everything if you’re going to get the job done,” Washington said.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @JaredSerre
•Like us on Facebook
