James Washington woke up a week ago to read an unknown diagnosis on his football future.
The Oklahoma State senior wideout was projected to miss at least four weeks with a hernia. The Cowboys’ top receiving target, who’s been named to multiple prestigious award watch lists, was learning of his own health diagnosis from text messages.
Washington is usually asleep by 10:30 p.m., so when he woke last Friday morning to a potential news nugget that left OSU faithful in limbo for hours, he was a bit surprised.
“People were telling me I was out four games,” Washington said. “It kind of shocked me. It’s all fun now.”
Washington woke to 60 text messages on his phone about the news. Washington admitted he didn’t even know some of the numbers sending him messages. He didn’t respond to any of the message.
Washington has a Twitter account, but rarely uses it. He admits social media isn’t important to him.
“I’m just really not a big social media guy,” Washington said. “Everyone on the team has iPhones and I still have an Android, because I really don’t care about social media. I’m on Instagram, but the reason I got Instagram a while back is because I was wanting to make a hunting page with my buddy.”
Because of his lack of a social media presence, Washington didn’t see the tweet sent late Aug. 9 from Pardon My Take. The site claimed to have a source who heard Washington was going to miss at least four games with the hernia. However, no one close to the OSU program confirmed it.
The next day, the tweet was deleted and Pardon My Take claimed an intern hacked their account. It was also reported Washington has been and will continue to play through an old hernia injury. He practiced last Friday and was featured in a video and photos from OSU Athletics.
“It was kind of funny, honestly, to see how stuff can spread so fast,” Washington said. “I just threw it behind me and kept moving about my business.”
Washington admitted his hernia will flare up once in a while, but it goes away in about 20 minutes. He said it’s something he’s had for years, maybe since birth.
“My dad always told me, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” Washington said.
In less than 24 hours, the supposed news broke on Twitter and was debunked. It was a wild day for Washington and OSU faithful, but he promises he’s ready for the Aug. 31 opener against Tulsa.
“I’m healthy and looking forward to the first game,” Washington said.
Scrimmage feedback
On Sunday, the Cowboys hosted their first intrasquad scrimmage, which was closed off to media. OSU coach Mike Gundy recapped the scrimmage during Wednesday’s media availability.
“I think it told us a lot about where we were from an X’s and O’s standpoint,” Gundy said. “Most coaches feel like after the first scrimmage that you’ve done too much and need to cut back in some areas. That was true as well for this last scrimmage and we’re going to do it again on Friday and then at that point we need to finalize everything.
“We need to make decisions on how we’re going to handle reps and other things from here on out. When I watched the tape, I was pleased with what I saw. I think we only had four penalties across 130 plays and two of those were with the young players that haven’t played at this level. For the most part, we were pretty sound and didn’t make many mistakes.”
Camp update
The Cowboys kick off the season in two weeks when they host Tulsa at Boone Pickens Stadium. With the season opener inching closer, Gundy and the Cowboys are pleased with where they’re at in their fall camp.
“We’re having a lot of competitive days. We’re opening the guys up and letting them get to work,” Gundy said. “The team’s attitude is great. We don’t have bed check anymore and we just ask the guys to be committed to themselves and the team. Knock on wood, we haven’t had any issues with that. As a coach, you always wish you had another 30 days to practice. You always feel that way, but I feel like we’re making a few strides each day.”
Senior quarterback Mason Rudolph, who enters his third year as the starter since taking over the job late into his freshman campaign, is also pleased with the progress and mindset of the Cowboys as the season opener approaches.
“It’s been great. I’ve enjoyed it and I think it’s been the breeziest camp so far with these off days we’ve gotten,” Rudolph said. “The walkthroughs have been fun, and no two-a-days, so that’s cool. It’s been a lot of mental reps practicing out here every morning. The mental reps are great.
“What’s been different with this time is in years past, we’d get out here messing around and not watching their position when they’re not in. That’s different this year. Everyone is locked in and everyone wants to use every second of preparation to maximize their reps.”
News Press Sports Editor Jason Elmquist contributed to this story.
0 Response to "Washington surprised by injury hoax - Stillwater News Press"
Post a Comment