June 2, 2003

New York - At first glance, Cliff Washburn seems to be an ideal NFL defensive end prospect. He has size (6-5, 275), speed and strength, and he posted impressive numbers as a four-year starter at The Citadel. There is a little hitch that makes Washburn's candidacy with the Giants somewhat less than certain: he was a four-year starter for the Bulldogs' basketball team.

Oh, he did play football in 2002, his first year on the gridiron since the sixth grade. But Washburn, who signed with the Giants as a rookie free agent, will have less football experience than anyone else in uniform when the team reports for training camp on July 24. And he has an interesting way of expressing the challenge that lies ahead.

"I feel like they (the team's other rookies) know a lot more than me, but I don't really think about it," he said. "I'm being thrown to the fire, and I have to get up to everyone else's level. It's almost like I have to think I already know what they know, even though I don't know what they know. The best way to deal with it is go along like you do. I always heard even if you don't have a million dollars, make people think you do. You can look like it. So that's what I try to do."

Washburn didn't look like a million bucks at the team's recent rookie mini-camp, but he did demonstrate enough skill to make him an intriguing prospect. He showed speed coming off the edge and he has quickly picked up many football nuances.

"He's kind of an interesting guy," defensive line coach Denny Marcin said. "I saw him do some things in the games, and he was a good-looking guy at the (scouting) combines. I talked to him and said, `Let's give him a shot and see what's up.' He's raw, but he's a big kid that can run, and you always start with that. He was a first-year guy out there playing football, and he didn't back away from any of the hitting."

Actually, he seemed to relish it. Washburn started all 12 games last season for The Citadel and tied a school record with 12 sacks for losses totaling 71 yards. He totaled 56 tackles (32 solo), including a Southern Conference-leading 20 stops behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 90 yards. He was also credited with 36 quarterback pressures and three pass deflections and was named second-team all-conference.

"He's raw, but he's a big kid that can run, and you always start with that." - DL Coach Denny MarcinNot bad for someone who had sat out the previous 11 football seasons.

"I think the thing that kept the interest going first was pass rush - that was something I immediately could do well against the guys on my team," Washburn said. "That's what I thought about all the time. When it came time for one-on-one drills, that was the best time for me. I was happy. Defense is fun -it feels good to tackle people. But the main thing is hitting the quarterback. That's what kept my interest.

"Then I started learning the intricacies of the game. Once you start to concentrate on those, and understand that you are getting better on those intricacies that you didn't see before, that makes it more interesting. I think it's human nature to love to grow and develope. That's the thing with me. I was loving my growth, loving to see myself getting better at the things I was being taught."

Washburn grew up in Shelby, N.C., but he said people in his region actually preferred football in that basketball-mad state.

"In the area I grew up in, they say there's something in the water, because there are three high schools with some of the best football in North Carolina," he said. "It seems like everybody who goes to school goes for football. It wasn't that I didn't like football, but I wanted to do something different."

Oddly enough, that was basketball. Washburn lettered for four years at Shelby High School, averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds a game for a 22-6 team as a senior. He was a three-time all-conference selection.

When it came time to choose a college, Washburn took a walk down another surprising path. He eschewed traditional basketball schools and chose The Citadel, a military institution known more for its bedrock discipline than its hoops program.

"I always say dare to be different," he said. "When schools were recruiting me, they all started to sound the same. They said, `You'll have an opportunity to play your freshman year, we have good academics, we have a good basketball tradition.' The Citadel was a little different. There's the military aspect to it. There's the prestige of the school, especially in the South - some people call it the West Point of the South or West Point is The Citadel of the North. I wanted to do something different. Everyone talked about how hard it would be. They said, `You better not go there, it's going to be tough.' So let me go to it and see what it's like."

Washburn thrived in the structured environment. On the basketball court, his 1,024 points made him the 21st player in school history to score more than 1,000 points. He is eighth on the school's career rebounds list with 632. Washburn started 102 games for The Citadel. In his final season, 2001-02, he averaged 10.6 points and 6.7 rebounds a game and led the Bulldogs in free throws made (92), rebounds (187) and rebounds per game (6.7).

As his basketball career began to wind down, Washburn considered playing in Europe for a couple of years and perhaps giving the NBA a shot down the road. But he figured that was a long shot at best.

So he decided to take advantage of an NCAA rule that gives athletes five years to complete four seasons of eligibility. After finishing with basketball in four years, he had another year to play another sport and chose football. His older brother, Ronnie, who plays for the Cincinnati Swarm of the Arena 2 League, had long urged him to try football.

"He said, `Football is what I think you should be doing," Washburn said. "A week after basketball season my senior year I went into football spring practice and caught the last 2˝ weeks. I had always heard `Do you play football' or `Why don't you play football?' or `You look like a football player.' I heard things like that all my life. I just decided - my brother decided it was my calling, and the football coaches at school, we had always flirted with the idea. When my senior year of basketball was over, they came to me and asked me if I wanted to do it. They thought I might be pretty good at it, so I thought, why not give it a try?"

Washburn faced some adjustments after so many years away from the game, but he quickly adapted.

"The coaching is totally different," he said. "It was like learning a whole new language and a new culture, because football terminology and basketball terminology are so different. And I had to get my body in shape for a whole different sport. So it was tough, and I was thrown right into the fire. But that was good for me, because I think I picked things up better like that."

His 12 sacks were proof of that. In July, he will try to make the Giants as a reserve defensive lineman.

"I try to come out every day and do my best, and in the end if my best isn't good enough, it's not good enough," he said. "All you can do is all you can do."

So far, Washburn is doing just fine.