Washington ready to step up for Etheridge

By Andrew Gribble
Auburn University Beat Reporter
Published: November 3, 2009

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With the few bodies coach Gene Chizik has at his disposal in Auburn’s secondary, there’s no other choice, he said, but to put the best four players on the field.

That mindset prompted his decision to move sophomore cornerback Demond Washington on Tuesday into the vacated spot at strong safety left by Zac Etheridge, who is out for the season with a serious neck injury.

“We have so few defensive backs right now that we have to be careful,” Chizik said. “We feel that this is a good move for us right now.”

Washington, a Tallassee native, has played cornerback, wide receiver, running back and has returned punts and kicks. He’s never played safety, though.

His confidence hasn’t been shaken.

“I love it. I’m a physical guy,” Washington said. “I love to hit. It’s going to be great.”

Washington has served as the first cornerback off the bench and plays the nickel position on third-down, passing situations. He’ll continue to do so, Chizik said, because the team can only handle so much moving and shaking on such short notice.

“We are going to try and do this with as little disruption as possible,” Chizik said. “This is a situation that we have to try and not give him too much stuff, because the safety position is going to be new.”

The transition began for Washington at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, when he was called into meet with safeties coach Tommy Thigpen. That’s when he received the news.

The rest of his morning and a good chunk of the week will be spent in the film room, just like Etheridge was famously known to do.

“It’s big filling Zac’s shoes,” Washington said. “That’s a big place to fill. Trying to do what Zac did is going to be hard, but I think I’m going to get the job done.”

The onus of filling Etheridge’s leadership role won’t be exclusively on his shoulders.

Freshman Daren Bates is now the most experienced safety on the Auburn roster. Etheridge was a mentor of sorts for Bates from the start, showing the true freshman how things worked immediately after Bates started turning heads with his knockout hits and playmaking ability back in the preseason.

“It’s going to be hard,” Bates said. “It was hard being without him that first play, knowing I didn’t have that No. 4 beside me for the rest of the game. As a person and a player I knew I had to step up and play. I know that’s what he’d want me to do.”

It goes beyond the defensive backfield, middle linebacker Josh Bynes said.

“I talked way more to the DBs, especially Daren Bates,” Bynes said. “I was trying to make sure me and him was on the same page. Mike Slade on the sidelines said, ‘Just talk to me.‘ That’s what I’m going to do. If I have to talk more, I’ll talk more.”

Washington is three inches shorter and roughly 30 pounds lighter than Etheridge, making him a perceived liability at stopping running backs before they’re able to turn on the jets and plow down field. It was where Etheridge established his niche on his way to 193 career tackles.

Washington said his size won’t be a detriment. And even though some of his teammates disagree about his official measurements, it appears he has their backing, too.

“He’s a smart player,” cornerback Walt McFadden said. “Just give him a couple of days of practice and I believe he can pick up anything. He plays fast, he wants to be on the field and he’ll do whatever it takes.”

(Photo credit: Todd Van Emst)