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Creating mismatches is easy when you have a player who can do it all. The movie Ultimate X wasn't about Kelley Washington, but if you ask the Tennessee receiver, he'll say it should have been. After all, Washington is the ultimate X-receiver, a chiseled 6'4", 225-pound sophomore who can work underneath, maul DBs who try to jam him and, with 4.3 speed and a 40-inch vertical, go deep and high.
Vols coach Phil Fulmer might prefer The Franchise: "He relied on natural ability last season, and you could see him getting better. Now he understands route-running and coverages, and we're expecting big things." In 2001, after four years of minor league baseball, Washington, a 22-year-old freshman, caught 64 passes (45 for first downs) for 1,010 yards. By moving to X, he's now the Vols' go-to guy and will shift all over the field (Fulmer huddled with Bucs coach Jon Gruden to devise creative matchups). With a little creativity, Washington -- a former QB -- really could be the ultimate weapon: "I got a great arm, too."
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This article appears in the September 2 issue of ESPN The Magazine. |
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