Washington: Jefferson is different

In his four previous seasons with the Titans, Nate Washington learned under two wide receivers coaches.

Fred Graves helped integrate Washington into the team when he first arrived from Pittsburgh in 2009, and Dave Ragone helped Washington produce career numbers of 74 catches, 1,023 yards and seven touchdowns in 2011.

But Washington sees something different in new wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson, who played 13 years in the NFL, catching 470 passes for 7,023 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Graves was a college wide receiver who didn’t play in the pros, while Ragone is a former quarterback who is now the Titans quarterbacks coach.

“It’s been a pleaure to have the coaches we’ve had here previously, but when you have a guy that’s played our position, it’s a totally different response,” Washington said of Jefferson. “He played there, he understands some things that a lot of other guys don’t understand.”

That’s helped Jefferson keep the receivers motivated, according to Washington.

“When (challenges) come along, with the fire he has, he hasn’t been letting us accept complacency out of each other or out of ourselves,” Washington said. “He’s the guy behind us saying, `Not today, you’re not going to give up on me today.’ Those are the types of things we need.

“It’s not like we’ve been missing them, but at the same time, I don’t think they’ve been harped on as much in the past as (Jefferson) has harped on them. It’s the little things – blocking backside, making sure we’re running complete routes and … making you’re your route is crisp. Those are the type things that are going to help us out.”

As the Titans’ mini-camp came to an end last week, both head coach Mike Munchak and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains praised the wide receiver corps as being especially good during offseason workouts.

Washington said he felt good about what he saw from the group as well.

“We haven’t taken any days off,” Washington said. “Even on days where we seem to think that it might get too us and we might be a little tired, there’s always been one guy to push us mentally. It’s been me, it’s been Kenny (Britt), it’s been Damian (Williams), it’s been Kendall (Wright), and guys like Michael Preston and Marc Mariani.

“All the guys in this corps right now have been pushing each other every single day, not only with our words, but with our work ethic and our action. So we haven’t taken one day off. Every day we’re getting better and we just have to stay focused on those kind of things.”

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Posted In: Team News

Source: Titans Insider