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James Washington Talks Next Level, Accountability: ‘We Can’t Start Thinking About Ourselves’

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You can’t talk about the upcoming season without the topic of discussion turning, at some point, to Mason Rudolph and James Washington, the two players who decided to forgo a chance at the NFL and return for one last ride in Orange and Black.

For Washington, there is a lot expected. He’s a Biletnikoff frontrunner and could end up being Oklahoma State’s fourth consensus All-American wide receiver. Head Coach Mike Gundy himself thinks Washington is up there on on the Mount Rushmore of great OSU receivers.

“James Washington is up there with the Dez Bryants and the Blackmons and the Rashaun Woods, the guys that have been terrific football players,” Gundy said. “I think James is just scratching the surface. I think the next ten years for him, really the sky’s the limit for two reasons. One, because he’s just starting to develop. Two, he’s got a terrific attitude, and he’s unselfish, and he loves to play the game of football, and he’s tough. So he ranks really high up there, in our opinion, with the wide-outs that have been at Oklahoma State.”

Despite the praise, Washington admits there are still parts of his game he knows he needs to work on. “Working on myself, I would say my blocking has got to be more explosive off the line,” he said at Big 12 Media Days.

Washington admits to have already been thinking some about life after OSU, even reaching out to talk with former Cowboy receiver Jordan Sterns.

“I actually talked to Jordan Sterns two weeks ago and I asked him what the transition’s like,” Washington said. “Basically its just like college except there’s no school so you got a bunch of time to strictly focus on football and watch film. There’s a ton of people who are willing to help you because you’re in the league. He’s definitely helped me out with that process.”

But don’t let that conversation fool you into believing that Washington doesn’t know what lies ahead, how important this upcoming season is, and what his role in it all is.

“It all comes back to our accountability for each other and leadership. If our leaders don’t hold guys accountable for their mistakes or hold other leaders for the mistakes it can take this team down. We can’t start thinking about ourselves, we got to stick to what we need for the team.”

There are a lot of expectations for this team and Washington himself. If they can make it about the team, and play up to expectations, they (and Washington) might just reach the mountain top.

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