LINCOLN, Neb.—There was a guy from Bradenton, Fla., in a No. 15 jersey practicing with the Nebraska football team on Wednesday.
Nope. This wasn’t a flashback to Tommie Frazier, the iconic quarterback who led the Cornhuskers to national titles in 1994-95.
This was Latravis Washington, and it was his first day as a college quarterback after spending his first two years in the program as a linebacker.
Folks around here have long memories, so it surely took a lot of courage for him to show up wearing the hallowed number of Frazier.
Washington said it was all a mix-up and that he was supposed to have No. 7. (Never mind that that was the number worn by 1997 Nebraska national title-winning quarterback Scott Frost.)
“Before I came out to practice, I was like, ‘Oh, God, Tommie Frazier. Same hometown.’ These guys are going to be like, ‘He’s got No. 15 because of Tommie Frazier. It’s nothing like that. Not at all.”
Washington, who had worn No. 23, required a conventional quarterback’s number after he accepted offensive coordinator Shawn Watson’s invitation to make a position change.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder had played quarterback in high school, and the position was his first love.
“This is a golden opportunity, so why not take it?” he said.
Watson first met Washington when he attended Nebraska’s Elite Quarterback Camp in 2005 and ’06.
“He and I have always had a pretty close relationship off the field,” Watson said. “We cut up and have fun. He comes in my office and always asks me to put in a play for him. So I said, ‘How about if we put a lot of plays in for you, brother?’ ”
The Huskers came into spring short on quarterback depth. Patrick Witt, the backup to Joe Ganz last year, left the program in the offseason. Incoming freshman Cody Green will miss the first few practices with a hip injury.
Washington’s background and arm strength—he says he can throw 80 yards—made him a natural for the job.
Watson said he has no idea where Washington would end up on the depth chart in the fall, but he does consider the move permanent.
“We’re going to give him the opportunity to do it or we would be doing him wrong,” he said. “If he or we feel he needs to go back (to defense) or somewhere else he can help us, we’ll do that. But we’re not looking at it that way. He’s full-bore into it.”
Washington was a two-year starting quarterback for Bayshore High in Bradenton—Frazier went to Manatee High—and was asked to play the position by a number of big-name schools.
“When I was in the recruiting process, I was thinking quarterback may be a little hard,” he said. “I just wanted to live college life.”
He said he has matured the past couple years and now wants the responsibility that comes with being a quarterback. Watson’s offense, which allows the quarterback flexibility to run and pass, also was appealing.
“It seemed kind of fun, and I think I can still play it,” Washington said.
Now comes the challenge of learning the offense, which he calls “mind-boggling.” Washington has not taken a redshirt season, and he said it’s possible he’ll use one this year so he can get a better grasp of the system.
“Two days ago was the first day I ever looked at the playbook,” Washington said. “When I first looked at it, it was like, ‘Wow.’ There is a lot of stuff thrown at you. You have to take it one piece at a time, break it down and get familiar with it.”
Washington said he knows Frazier and plans to call him to talk about being a quarterback at Nebraska.
Frazier won’t be able to give him any advice about the offensive system. He played during the heyday of Tom Osborne’s triple-option attack.
Once Washington gets his number situation straightened out, he hopes all that talk tying him to Frazier fades away.
“Those are some big shoes to fill,” he said.
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