When Tevin Washington interned over the summer at the Dunwoody law firm of Pendergast & Associates, attorney John Pendergast kept it a secret that one of the interns was Georgia Tech’s starting quarterback so that Washington could make an impression on his own merits.
By the time the office learned how he spends autumn Saturdays, he’d won everyone over with his humility and job performance, even the Georgia fans.
“Just a hard worker,” Pendergast said.
Washington’s days of flying under the radar may be over. He will be front and center as Tech’s quarterback, replacing three-year starter Joshua Nesbitt. Washington was forced into action for the last five games of the 2010 season, beginning midway through the Virginia Tech game after Nesbitt broke his right arm. Tech was 1-4 in those games, but three of the four losses were decided late in the fourth quarter.
Washington, a junior from Wetumpka, Ala., impressed teammates over the summer with his work ethic and leadership. He is not the fiery sort that Nesbitt was, but he’s tough enough to have gone through spring practice on a torn MCL.
Washington sat down with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and talked about replacing Nesbitt, Tech’s passing game and what he wants to do this season.
Q: On the first series you went into the Virginia Tech game after Joshua Nesbitt got hurt, what was going through your mind?
A: Just really, take care of the ball and make sure you try to put us in a position to win.
Q: You weren’t nervous?
A: There wasn’t time to be nervous. There was just time to go in and just try to do everything [asked], keep the offense moving forward.
Q: What were your best and worst moments of the season?
A: I’d say worst moment was not being able to pull out some of those games, the close games in the one-minute situations. Probably the best moment was getting the win against Duke.
Q: What do you remember about that game?
A: Just the relief of finally getting a win. I think we had a three-game losing streak going into that game, so finally getting that win and being able to go into the Georgia game bowl-eligible was a good feeling.
Q: What motivates you to play and work hard?
A: I look back at last year, the close games, just remembering that I need to finish and when we get down the stretch, motivated just to finish. I try to do everything the right away. I just always remember that, when I’m not working, there’s somebody else out there in the country, another quarterback at another school out there working just as hard, if not harder.
Q: What’s one thing you wish you could take from Nesbitt’s game?
A: Probably the toughness. Josh played hurt a lot, [on a] bum ankle sometimes. Just really the toughness, just being able to grind it out no matter the situation, no matter how I feel. No expression on my face, just cool, calm and collected in whatever the situation may be.
Q: Which defensive players improved a lot over the preseason?
A: Over the course of the preseason, it was a lot of them — [defensive back] Jemea Thomas, [cornerback] Louis Young, and then you’ve got [inside linebacker] Daniel Drummond, and up front you’ve got [defensive tackle] Logan Walls. I think the whole defense, they did a good job of coming along and coming together throughout camp.
Q: Are you working more on the short passing game than in the past?
A: We work on it all. Sometimes, we’re just making sure we get the ball out when we’ve got a chance to hit the high-percentage throw.
Q: How do you feel the pass protection has progressed?
A: It’s come a long way. We think we’re getting better. Coming from the spring, it’s been coming a long way. I just feel like it’s a lot better than where it was.
Q: How would you evaluate the work of the quarterback group in the preseason?
A: I think we made a lot of improvement. Coming in, the younger guys, they really didn’t know much, and then now, they know pretty much what the coaches expect from them and what we’re trying to accomplish on offense.
Q: What is one thing you want to make sure you do well this season?
A: I just want to finish every game on a positive note, with a win. So, come out, take care of business every game.
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