1^st and 10 with Nate Washington

 

             Wide receiver Nate Washington is a player who beat the odds, coming from a small college, Tiffin University, signing with the Steelers before the 2005 season as a rookie free agent, making the team and then playing in Super Bowl XL.

 

            Washington stepped in and started this year when Hines Ward was injured and continues to make progress.

 

            Washington took time out to talk with Teresa Varley and shared his thoughts, including talking about making his first start, coming in to the NFL as a rookie free agent and his hidden singing talent.

 

1.   What was it like scoring your first NFL touchdown? Was it something you dreamed of doing when you were a kid?

It was great. I never thought as a kid I would be in that position. But it was definitely one of the highest, highs of my life. It was a very exciting moment.

 

2.   What about starting your first game? What was that experience like?

I didn't want to let any of my teammates down. I had a lot of them counting on me being that Hines Ward was out and I was going to be the guy to step in and try to fill his shoes. I knew it was going to be kind of tough. I was kind of nervous to do that.

 

3.   What went through your mind when the Steelers drafted two wide receivers in the upper rounds in the 2006 draft?

I just knew I was going to have to come in take care of my business. It was a situation where I didn't know what was going on. I was kind of hurt by that, but at the same time I knew what I was capable of. I just had to come in and work and show them I can do it.

 

4.  What kind of challenges were you faced with when you came in as a rookie free agent that draft picks might not have been faced with?

Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, but it's definitely not promised to a free agent, especially a rookie coming in from where I did, a smaller school. It was kind of hard, especially because I had a fourth-round pick in front of me. I tried to make sure I did the things I know I can do to come out and establish myself as a guy who can play on this level. It was tough not knowing anyone. I couldn't relate to anyone with schools or anything. It was tough, but I was able to manage my way through it.

 

5.  What was the toughest adjustment to the NFL?

It was adjusting to the competition. Everybody is good on this level. The biggest guy can be the fastest guy. The smallest guy can be shiftiest guy. It was the mental aspect of knowing I couldn't come out and just beat people with my physical talent. Everybody out there is just as blessed physically as me, if not better. I had to prepare myself mentally to come out and use my head.

 

6.  Has Hines Ward helped you to adjust and what kind of advice has he given you?

He has helped me out a whole lot. The number one thing that Hines has taught me is patience. Everything is not going to come right when it is supposed to. I have to be patient in my routes, patient in getting the ball, patient even if I have a bad game to come back next game and work through it. He settled me down a lot more to be patient.

 

7.  Receivers are asked to block in this offense. How would you evaluate your blocking?

I would give myself a C+ right now. It can get a lot better. Watching Hines Ward in front of you, he is one of the greatest blocking wide receivers I have ever seen. I just want to come out and be a little bit more like him and get a hat on somebody.

8.  How many times have you heard your school referred to as "Tiny Tiffin University" and do you get tired of that?
I don't think I will ever get tired of hearing it. Just for somebody to ask me where is Tiffin University or about how tiny it is, that means I am doing my job and somebody wants to know where I came from. It feels good to come out and have people ask me about my college. It's not really on the map like that.

 

9.  You were honored by Tiffin with Nate Washington day this off-season. What was that like and are you one of their most famous alumni?

I am not the most famous alumni. The guy from Wendy's, Dave Thomas, he went to school there. But the day they had for me was much more than I expected. It's a small, small town, so when I got there I expected to be a nice crowd, but the place was jammed packed. There will people outside and everything. It just felt good to have the love of that town and the respect of those people after what I did and prove all my hard work paid off.

 

10.  You have a "hidden" talent of singing? How good a voice do you have and what do you like to sing? Have you ever sung anywhere?

Deshea (Townsend) and I got to karaoke nights some times and sing duets. We do it just to have fun. It's fun to relax. We go to some places in Pittsburgh and sing. We sing everything from Marvin Gaye to Stevie Wonder. We sing to the oldies, the 70s and 80s songs. People come up to us and are like what are you guys doing? We just like to have fun with it.