- 31,964
- 1,056
yup. so is Jeff Bowden
LINCOLN, Neb. - In high school, LatravisWashington was considered one of the better dual-threat quarterback prospects in the state of Florida.
In fact, the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder had QB scholarship offers from schools like Ohio State, West Virginia, Iowa and Michigan State.
The Bradenton, Fla., native, however, thought it was in his best interest to play either safety or linebacker at the next level, so he gave up his first love.
Two years later, the junior now finds himself back at quarterback this spring. It was a move that didn't officially happen until Washington got back fromspring break on Monday.
With the departure of Patrick Witt from the program, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson felt it was important to have four quarterbacks in camp, so that's why he decided to move the talented athlete fromFlorida this spring.
"We are not looking at it as a trial," Watson said. "We are looking at it as we are giving him an opportunity to do it, otherwise we'd bedoing him wrong and we aren't going to do him wrong. We explained to him if we do this, we are doing it to really see if you can really play. Youaren't just going to come over and be with us in the spring.
"In the end, though, if we feel like he needs to go somewhere else to help us, he'll do that. We aren't looking at it like that right now.He's full bore into it. I love having him in the meeting room. He's awesome."
To give you an idea of what type of arm strength he has, at Nebraska's Elite Quarterback Camp in high school, Washington won the longest ball competitionin 2006 with a toss of 63 yards.
Washington also attended the camp in 2005, and took fourth in the longest ball competition that year, finishing only behind names like current Idaho startingquarterback Nathan Enderle (70 yards) and former KansasState quarterback Josh Freeman (64 yards).
"I can throw the ball a little bit," Washington said. "I need to work on a lot of stuff like just calming down and getting my feet under mebecause I was out of position for two years. I'm just trying to get my feet under me.
"Two days ago was my first time ever looking at the offensive playbook. When I first looked at it I was like 'wow.' It's just like 'oh mygod.' When we are doing install there's just a lot of stuff thrown at you. You just have to take it one piece at a time and get familiar with it."
Watson said when he first suggested to coach Bo Pelini aboutmoving Washington from linebacker to quarterback he thought it was a joke.
Watson said Pelini had no idea Washington was a talented quarterback prospect in high school.
"I'll tell you, he's got a cannon," Watson said. "Bo and I sit back there and watch him throw and he can throw man. He can zip thatball. Bo at first thought I was crazy when I told him. He said 'Latravis?' And I was like 'yeah, he can really throw.' He's got arm talent,but he's got to refine it. He's been away from it now for two years and he's got to get his timing back and his rhythm back. But it comes back fastwhen you are a great athlete like him. It will come back quick."
When Washington looks at his future, the nice thing is he still has his redshirt to use. Washington has played sparingly on special teams each of the last twoseasons, but with his recent move to quarterback he feels like he can used the 2009 season to learn the offense and get things down for the future.
"It was finalized when I came back from break on Monday morning," Washington said. "Coach Pelini told me before I left for break to go to yourfamily and talk with your coaches about it and when you get back from break let's hear an answer.
"When I came back from break I talked with my family and with my cousin [Baltimore Ravens and former Huskers cornerback Fabian Washington] and theybasically said it's your decision. This is a golden opportunity, so why don't you take it."
For Watson, moving players like Washington over to quarterback is nothing new. He joked that he's seen just about it all over his coaching career andthat's why he has confidence Washington will make a smooth transition this spring.
"There will be some things in the passing game that he'll be exposed to, but what high school guy gets exposed to an offense like this - not verymany," Watson said. "So I'm used to teaching. ... I've been down this path many, many times before. We've made quarterbacks out of a lotof different players and I'm not worried about it. We'll find a way. We've got a lot of different pieces we'll use and we'll find our wayto success."
Gotta keep an Eye on Lincoln
LINCOLN, Neb. - In high school, LatravisWashington was considered one of the better dual-threat quarterback prospects in the state of Florida.
In fact, the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder had QB scholarship offers from schools like Ohio State, West Virginia, Iowa and Michigan State.
The Bradenton, Fla., native, however, thought it was in his best interest to play either safety or linebacker at the next level, so he gave up his first love.
Two years later, the junior now finds himself back at quarterback this spring. It was a move that didn't officially happen until Washington got back fromspring break on Monday.
| 
|
|
| |
| Junior quarterback Zac Lee talks with junior Latravis Washington during his first day of work at quarterback on Wednesday. |
"We are not looking at it as a trial," Watson said. "We are looking at it as we are giving him an opportunity to do it, otherwise we'd bedoing him wrong and we aren't going to do him wrong. We explained to him if we do this, we are doing it to really see if you can really play. Youaren't just going to come over and be with us in the spring.
"In the end, though, if we feel like he needs to go somewhere else to help us, he'll do that. We aren't looking at it like that right now.He's full bore into it. I love having him in the meeting room. He's awesome."
To give you an idea of what type of arm strength he has, at Nebraska's Elite Quarterback Camp in high school, Washington won the longest ball competitionin 2006 with a toss of 63 yards.
Washington also attended the camp in 2005, and took fourth in the longest ball competition that year, finishing only behind names like current Idaho startingquarterback Nathan Enderle (70 yards) and former KansasState quarterback Josh Freeman (64 yards).
"I can throw the ball a little bit," Washington said. "I need to work on a lot of stuff like just calming down and getting my feet under mebecause I was out of position for two years. I'm just trying to get my feet under me.
"Two days ago was my first time ever looking at the offensive playbook. When I first looked at it I was like 'wow.' It's just like 'oh mygod.' When we are doing install there's just a lot of stuff thrown at you. You just have to take it one piece at a time and get familiar with it."
Watson said when he first suggested to coach Bo Pelini aboutmoving Washington from linebacker to quarterback he thought it was a joke.
|
|
|
| |
| Latravis Washington showed off his arm strength during Nebraska's Elite Quarterback Camp in 2005-06. |
"I'll tell you, he's got a cannon," Watson said. "Bo and I sit back there and watch him throw and he can throw man. He can zip thatball. Bo at first thought I was crazy when I told him. He said 'Latravis?' And I was like 'yeah, he can really throw.' He's got arm talent,but he's got to refine it. He's been away from it now for two years and he's got to get his timing back and his rhythm back. But it comes back fastwhen you are a great athlete like him. It will come back quick."
When Washington looks at his future, the nice thing is he still has his redshirt to use. Washington has played sparingly on special teams each of the last twoseasons, but with his recent move to quarterback he feels like he can used the 2009 season to learn the offense and get things down for the future.
"It was finalized when I came back from break on Monday morning," Washington said. "Coach Pelini told me before I left for break to go to yourfamily and talk with your coaches about it and when you get back from break let's hear an answer.
"When I came back from break I talked with my family and with my cousin [Baltimore Ravens and former Huskers cornerback Fabian Washington] and theybasically said it's your decision. This is a golden opportunity, so why don't you take it."
For Watson, moving players like Washington over to quarterback is nothing new. He joked that he's seen just about it all over his coaching career andthat's why he has confidence Washington will make a smooth transition this spring.
"There will be some things in the passing game that he'll be exposed to, but what high school guy gets exposed to an offense like this - not verymany," Watson said. "So I'm used to teaching. ... I've been down this path many, many times before. We've made quarterbacks out of a lotof different players and I'm not worried about it. We'll find a way. We've got a lot of different pieces we'll use and we'll find our wayto success."
Gotta keep an Eye on Lincoln
Team Anti-Doug E. Doug & Joell Ortiz
What the Hell????
