There’s no laughing in this corner. After all, you have to be sure of yourself to make it in the NFL, let alone life. And discipline, as noted before, has set him on that path.
Consider: Washington’s father is a major crimes investigator for the Utica (N.Y.) Police Department, his mother is the founder and executive director of the Patty-Roy Foundation, a nonprofit to help the homeless, and his older brother is a former Marine and bodybuilder who is now a police officer in Dallas.
“It was instilled in me since Day 1,” Washington said.
“Now, that’s kind of just what I implement into my game, into my routines, just being disciplined. And not motivated. Because being motivated is an emotion, it comes and goes. But discipline is something you do whether you’re sad, happy, tired. It has nothing to do with motivation. [Discipline] is doing it on a day-to-day basis, no matter how you feel.”
And those are things Washington can control.
What he was “blessed” with is size (6-foot-2, 228 pounds), speed (4.33 in the 40) and agility (a 39-inch vertical).
“With the genetics thing, I mean, it’s talent,” he said, “but it’s hard work at the same time. I’ve been gifted with genetics and being able to have this talent, but my hard work has met my talent. So now, I’m able to excel at whatever I really put my mind to.”