By GUERIN EMIG Sports Writer on Aug 9, 2012, at 10:39 AM Updated on 8/09 at 10:39 AM
OU SPORTS
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One of the best things about R.J. Washington reaching his potential after three years is we get to hear him talk a lot more. The man has a lot to say, and most of the time it's worth hearing.
Late last year, as the light finally came on for the high school player once ranked second at his position in America, Washington made it very clear the fault for his late blooming was his. He finally started listening to position coach Bobby Jack Wright, finally started to figure out he could brood all he wanted, but his defiance wasn't going to get him on Owen Field.
Washington will be there plenty in this his senior season. He's having a "heck of a camp," Wright said this week, and seems to be picking up where Frank Alexander left off as example-setting elder statesman of the D-ends.
You can measure that by both his effort and his words. Consider Washington's response to a recent question about offseason turmoil in the program, about the four suspensions from last May:
"I'm not holier than thou. People are going to mess up. I know that. Coaches know that. People should know that. Nobody's perfect. There's going to be some mistakes…
"I can only focus on what I can control. What I can control is getting these young guys ready to play past me and working at my work ethic. And I feel like I accomplished that. We had a great summer as a defensive end and defensive line group. That's what I focus on.
"I'm not worried about what other people are doing, or what he said over here and blah-blah-blah. Even if I focus on it, it's not going to change it. I don't have time to sit around and do any of that. I'm more mature than that. I'll be like, 'All right, you probably shouldn't have put that on Twitter. Let's move on.' That would be it.
"I'll walk by somebody and I might slap them in the back of the neck. 'All right. We're done.'"
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