PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Isaiah Washington enters his final season with Rutgers football as one of the veterans of the wide receiver room. And as Washington readies for his third season with Rutgers and fifth year of college football overall, he readily admits that there is still plenty for him to learn.
Thankfully for Washington, he has a new wide receivers coach in Dave Brock who has extensive experience at both he college level and the NFL.
Last season, Washington had three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. And as he steps up into a bigger role both on the field but also in terms of leadership, Washington will be guided by Brock, who returns to Rutgers after 11 years away from the program.
During that time, he spent four years as head coach at Delaware and then five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. His last three years in Atlanta saw him as the NFL team’s wide receivers coach.
“I think it’s awesome. He’s a really smart coach, he knows what he’s talking about. So it’s like every meeting is just everybody’s an adult. Everyone is just trying to pick his brain,” Washington said on Tuesday.
“We definitely have a certain excitement level but I mean, it’s just because, it’s exciting playing football, you know, it’s a sport we love. So every time we step out here, it’s an excitement level, but there’s definitely you know, a certain excitement to something new.”
Washington, steady and relatively unflappable, kept the focus not on himself as much as the overall growth and development of the team. This is a crucial season for Rutgers football to continue their rebuild and the offense will be asked to take a significant step forward after their struggles from last year.
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Part of the reshaping of the offense happened with a coaching staff shakeup that started with the midseason firing of Sean Gleeson and ended up seeing three new coaches come in. Those coaches all have extensive experience, with offensive line coach Pat Flaherty and the aforementioned Brock boasting NFL stops on their resume.
The work that Brock did in the NFL and in college (Brock was also the Rutgers offensive coordinator in 2014) is not lost on a player like Washington.
“It’s always good to have a coach like him in the room. Like, he’s literally an NFL veteran, a college veteran – he’s very smart,” Washington said.
“You know, it’s all it’s really good to learn from him. Like a nice, great coach. I think it’s going to be a really good thing for our group.”‘
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