It was not long ago when sophomore running back James Washington walked into the N.C. State locker room not knowing much, only that he had two excellent mentors in senior running backs Toney Baker and Jamelle Eugene to learn from. Fast forward to now, and his role has already reversed, even if he only has one more year of experience than them.
“I feel like I am the leader,” Washington said. “I have been here the longest and I know most of the stuff that is going on.”
The sophomore running back has taken this role in stride, as he has helped freshmen running backs Mustafa Greene and Dean Haynes get their careers off to strong starts. Those two backs have combined for 735 rushing yards and eight touchdowns through seven games.
“If I see one of them doing something wrong and I can point it out,” Washington said. “I just tell them ‘oh you got this guy, or he is in a three-technique or he is going to loop,’ and I just try to use my experience and share it with them so we can all get better.”
At the beginning of the season, Washington had to do his coaching from the sidelines as he missed the first five games of the season due to injury. However, Washington is finally healthy and enjoying his time back on the field after being away from it for so long.
“It felt really good,” Washington said. “I have been out so long and I got a chance to get out there and get my feet wet.”
Since being back, Washington has been a receiving threat on third downs and obvious passing downs, as he caught five passes against Boston College, three on the first drive alone. But senior offensive tackle Jake Vermiglio said Washington’s ability to block is the main reason he is in the backfield.
“He is a good pass blocker and that is probably the best thing about James,” Vermiglio said. “James is a confident guy, he loves to pass block and just chip and take down some of those huge defensive linemen and linebackers.”
With Washington back the Pack has a three-headed monster in the backfield beside redshirt junior quarterback Russell Wilson, as each player has the ability to contribute where it can to help the team the most.
“I think that it is the best situation for the team to get all three of us in there,” Washington said. “We all bring a different thing to the table and we can just keep hammering with us three and see how far we can go with it.”
Even though the three backs share carries and each comes in for certain plays, Washington said it does not mean that they aren’t complete backs capable of carrying the full load at anytime. Instead, it just means all get to stay fresh throughout the long grind of the season.
“We just take it that we are a committee. We all take reps, we all pitch in and we all take the same amount of reps at practice,” Washington said. “We are all complete backs. You just always want to keep fresh legs in there and as long as you have fresh legs, something could bust open.”
While many running backs may complain about having to share carries and split time with guys who are younger than themselves, Washington understands the reason for it and is more focused on helping the team win football games.
“You have to be team-first because ultimately it is all about the team and it is a team game,” Washington said. “It’s not hard to keep that mentality. If you put the team first, you are going to get your share of the carries.”
