Corey Washington may be an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Military College and then tiny Newberry College in his native South Carolina, but don’t tell him he doesn’t belong in the NFL.
“I have a big chip on my shoulder,” he says. “I feel like if I’d been to a big school, I’d have been a top-10 wide receiver. People just fell asleep on me because I went to a small school. They expect me not to do nothing big at this level just because of the name of the school. I’m here to prove my point.”
So you ask Corey Washington, whose early claim to fame was catching that 73-yard touchdown pass in the Hall of Fame Game, which cornerback he would like to go against in the NFL.
“Other than New York? I’d love to go against Richard Sherman. 6-4 versus 6-4,” he says in his South Carolina accent.
He has only seen the NFL’s best cornerback on television, of course.
“I can give him a run for his money,” Washington says.
Ask him how he knows, and he says: “Because I got confidence in my game. I got confidence in myself. I’m not gonna let nobody guard me one-on-one.”
And that is what his Twitter handle (@HeDoubleTrouble) means.
“Yes sir,” Washington says.
He is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and has run a 4.5 40, and no one should be surprised he liked Randy Moss’ game.
“I can take the top off a defense,” Washington keeps saying.
Just because you come from a small school doesn’t mean you can’t dream big. Corey Washington’s NFL dream:
“I have Eli [Manning] in the play-action. I have me running a skinny post, and I’m going deep. I don’t know what game it is, but I’m going deep, and there’s like four minutes left, and that’s the game-winner to win the game.”
The Giants claimed Washington on waivers in May after the Cardinals released him.
“I went in the office, and the guy was like, ‘This is the hard part about being a professional. We’re gonna release you today. You had a great OTAs and a great rookie mini-camp, but we feel like it’s best for you and your family to be in a better situation,’” Washington said.
Winding up with a team that lacks a 6-4 receiver is a better situation.
“Corey is a big, raw, physical athlete who has great ball skills,” receivers coach Sean Ryan said. “If I had to say one thing about him right off the bat — that kid can catch the ball. When the ball is in the air or down the field, he’s going to get it. I think he’s gotten, from the time he got here, much more serious in his understanding of how important meetings are and being locked in there. He’s growing, he’s got some ways to go and he knows that. He’s got the tools to be successful.”
Giants secondary coach Pete Giunta: “He can go up and get the ball in the air. Those big guys, if you’re an undersized corner, you can struggle with some of those guys.”
Washington doesn’t care for defensive backs who talk trash. Let him relate a Newberry anecdote:
“I was running a fade route, and the quarterback put the ball inside where the DB was, and the DB had a deflection. He was like, ‘No, you ain’t catching nothing over here!’
“I lost it after that. They called a play from the sideline, so I looked at my coach, and I was like, ‘I want a fade.’ I said it out loud. The corner heard me. I guess he thought I was bluffing. Ran straight past him for a touchdown. Played UNC-Pembroke, No. 18 in the nation at the time. Game-winning touchdown.”
His grandmother, Betty Polite, raised him from the time he was 2 years old. “She’s my queen,” Washington said.
Betty Polite, reached in Charleston, said Washington called her after the Hall of Fame Game.
“‘Mama’ — he calls me Mama — ‘you saw that touchdown?’ I said, ‘I sure did.’ I said, ‘I’m proud of you.’”
Betty Polite adds fuel to his fire.
“I don’t got no friends on the field,” Washington said. “I’m just hungry out there on the field. She’s diabetic, her and my granddaddy. A retirement check is not enough for them so, me being in the NFL, I can help them out a lot financially.”
Betty Polite: “That’s a good boy, he’s a good boy.”
Prior to the Hall of Fame Game, the largest crowd he had played in front of was 4,000. “I’m ready to play in front of bigger now,” Washington said.
If he can excel on special teams, he may have a chance. “I’m a gunner, I’m a ‘D’ end on punt return, I’m the left end on kick return, and I’m the L2 and L5 on kickoff,” he said.
New York doesn’t scare him.
“It’s the Big Apple, man,” Washington said. “It’s every player’s dream. It’s a great organization. I love the players here. I love the fans. It’s just a great opportunity for me.”
He’s Double Trouble.
Says Betty Polite: “I think he’s gonna make it.”