Washington to Have Private Workout With NFL's Colts
Bridgewater's Marcus Washington is currently scheduled to have a private pro day with an Indianapolis Colts scout on April 3.Washington, a running back, finished his career as an Eagle with 2,680 career rushing yards on 409 attempts - 6.6 yards a rush - and 34 rushing touchdowns. He also finished with career marks of 4,326 all-purpose yards and a school record 268 points.
Washington will likely be measured in the typical running back areas like the three-cone drill, short and long shuttle, 40-yard dash and position drills.
He also might join University of Virginia players on March 21 for the Cavaliers' Pro Day.
posted by kid @ 11:54 AM
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2 Comments:
Instead of a private workout on April 3, Washington joined a handful of players at Virginia Military Institute on March 28 for a Pro Day with the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots.
Here were the times he posted;
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.59
• Short Shuttle: 4.44
• Long Shuttle: 11.54
• L-Cone: 7.10
Washington stated he should hear back within the next month.
If he isn't signed by an NFL team, he said he would try the Canadian Football League or a europeon league.
It’s No Act: Washington Wants To Play Pro Ball
And the former Bridgewater College tailback is getting peeks.
By Joe Lemire, The Daily News-Record
BRIDGEWATER – Marcus Washington will be making his professional debut this summer – in acting.
While the Bridgewater College senior running back has yet to latch onto a pro football team, he was hired to be an extra in the movie "Evan Almighty," the second installment of the "Bruce Almighty" series, to be filmed in Charlottesville, Richmond, Waynesboro and Washington.
On the gridiron, his scoring prowess was pretty almighty, too. In his final year with the Eagles, Washington touched the ball 163 times – 131 rushes, 13 kickoff returns, 12 receptions and seven pass attempts – and accounted for 23 touchdowns (17 rushing, 1 returning, 2 receiving, 3 passing).
That epic production has attracted interest from professional scouts even though he played at the Division III level and, at 6 feet, 200 pounds, is smaller than the prototypical pro running back. Washington has been contacted by and has worked out for scouts from the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, but the Crozet native said Wednesday he was a bit disappointed not to have at least received more attention, if not a training camp invitation or contract offer.
"Definitely not being drafted – I didn’t expect that," the two-time second-team d3football.com All-American said. "Mostly looking to be picked up in free agency, possibly signing with an NFL team. If not that, I expected to have more interest from some of these CFL teams."
A Colts spokesman declined to comment on Washington’s pro potential, citing team policy only to discuss players currently under contract, and the Roughriders did not provide any information about his tryout.
Washington said he’s spent the better part of every afternoon this spring working out, though he admitted that it’s been difficult to combine his training with his studying – he’ll graduate Sunday with a degree in psychology – and to motivate his workouts without a training partner.
But the possible reward makes it worthwhile.
"When I started playing, I never gave it any thought," Washington, a Western Albemarle High School graduate, said. "I never even thought about playing college football when I started my freshman year of high school. But, I don’t know, as you keep going through it and develop as a player, that kind of becomes the goal and something that you hunger for."
He said he began contemplating pro football as a viable option after the torrid start to his senior season, in which he accounted for 441 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns in his first two games.
"Competing against all the other D-III teams, I mean, at the time I considered myself one of the elite, you know?" he said. "Well, so if I can dominate these guys, then what could I potentially do at the next level?"
Making the transition from Division III to the professional ranks is a daunting challenge. NFL teams have drafted only four small-college players since 2000. Another former Bridgewater standout, linebacker Jermaine Taylor, was a two-time All-American and Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He twice has been on the cusp of earning an NFL roster spot – first with the Green Bay Packers and more recently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and this spring was allocated to the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe, where he is among the league leaders in tackles.
Washington said he keeps in contact with Taylor via e-mail.
"He said, ‘Keep your head up’ because, obviously coming from D-III, it’s not as easy as a D-I standout athlete – or you don’t even had to be a standout athlete if you’re coming from D-I – to get a camp invitation," Washington said. "Basically, he told me to keep working hard and stay positive."
Providing additional hope is that a few of his teammates from the Aztec Bowl, which fielded a Division III senior All-Star team, received NFL camp invitations.
According to Washington, the Roughriders’ scout mentioned the idea of switching to defense, where he would be the ideal size for a defensive back. Washington said he’d probably be open to the switch, and it might prove helpful if he were to join an Arena Football League roster. Most arena athletes play both offense and defense.
"I could be versatile. I’d like to be a running back or maybe be strictly a wide-out, but I’d be more than willing to do either of those two and, obviously, a specialist," said Washington, who had 34 career receptions at BC. "People have been telling me that I should possibly switch to the other side of the ball and play safety. I have the perfect size for it, apparently."
Should football not pan out, Washington’s fallback plan is to work for a year or two, perhaps as a personal trainer, before going to graduate school in sports psychology.
"He falls in the category with Jermaine," BC coach Michael Clark said. "Football would be a bonus for him. If it works for him, fine, but if it doesn’t, he’s graduating [Sunday] and he can do a lot of other things well."
For now, however, Washington’s eyes remain fixed on the goal of playing pro football – something he plans to pursue without a concrete timetable.
"Until I know that I’ve given it a 100 percent, legitimate shot, performing at the best of my ability," he said. "However long it takes me to do that, then that’s how long I’ll probably end up pursuing it."
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