April 21, 2005

Frankfurt, Germany - Galaxy offensive tackle Cliff Washburn is learning a new position this year, making the transition from the defensive side of the football. Don't worry, though, he doesn't have many bad habits to correct. After all, he's only played football for about three years.

The 6-5, 310-pound lineman began his short football career in 2002 as a defensive end at the Citadel. After spending four years starring on the school's basketball team as a power forward and center, he was persuaded by football coaches, family and friends to try his hand at a new sport.

"All of the assistant coaches on the staff used to always say, 'Yeah, come out for us and play football,' almost joking but kind of serious," he said.

"If I had a dollar for everyone in my life who said, 'You look like a football player,' or, 'You should be playing football,' I'd be rich."

It was his eventual head coach, Ellis Johnson, who finally tipped the scales. Johnson was a graduate of the Citadel, and has coached at some of the NCAA's elite programs, even winning a National Championship at Alabama.

"He told me that I should just go out and give this football thing a try. He knew a lot about football and said that he thought I could be a heck of a football player."

Still, it wasn't an easy decision to come back for a fifth year of school and play a game he's only watched on T.V. He knew that the game he grew up with in Rutherfordton, North Carolina would have to take a back seat to this foreign sport.

"I got my first basketball goal when I was six, and it was the talk of the neighborhood. Nobody really had a real hoop when we were kids," said Washburn. "We used to take a square mortarboard from the brick masons, then take an old bicycle tire rim and nail that up to the board.

"We'd make a ball out of paper or get a cheap ball from Wal-Mart, and that's how we started playing. Just make your own basketball goal." From the start, Washburn pretty much knew he would excel on the court. He has a work ethic that nags him whenever he passes a hoop, the call to shoot is so strong. His size, measured both vertically and horizontally, was one of the early indicators that he would excel on the court.

"I was always in the back of the line, either because my last name started with a 'W' or because I was the tallest," he joked.

A basketball scholarship led him to the Citadel, where he started 102 games, scoring 1,024 points and grabbing 632 rebounds in his four-year career. He even has a place in the record books, ranking eighth on the Bulldogs' all-time career rebounds chart.

As the door closed on his basketball playing days, Washburn wouldn't let it shut completely, not just yet. He had too much of a love for that orange-leather ball that he wanted to consider his choices.

"I love to take it (a basketball game) and slow it down," he poetically said. "When guys are taking a jump shot or dribbling down the court, it's like an art form. The balance you have to have in order for it to be successful, and when you see that on tape, it's so fluid. It's a beautiful game.

He finally buckled, unable to resist the chance to try something new.

"I had a few options. I thought about playing basketball overseas, playing football, even the military," but in the end, he decided to trade the high-tops and boots for a pair of cleats.

Washburn went on to finish his sole year of collegiate football with a school-record 12 sacks for 71 yards lost, and a conference-high 20 tackles for losses. While the stats may not show it, he realized that he wasn't nearly a top-caliber player.

"In college, I didn't know how to play at all. I didn't know how to use my hands and I relied completely on my athletic ability," said Washburn. "My coach used to always say, 'If you have good fundamentals, you can beat the average and hang with the elite.

"Anytime a guy had good fundamentals, I would get dominated."

Obviously he didn't get dominated often enough for NFL scouts to notice, because the following year, Washburn found himself in training camp with the New York Giants, a place he never thought he'd be.

"I used to play with my elbows and forearms. (Giants DE) Michael Strahan, (DT) Cornelius Griffin and (DT) Keith Hamilton picked at me at a lot," he said with a smile.

His stint with the Giants was cut short after the team tried to turn Washburn into a defensive tackle. Not an easy task for a guy who was still reading the first page of a defensive end's playbook. Eventually, he wound up in Chicago, where the Bears signed him to their practice squad in 2003 as an end. His work earned him a ticket to play with the Amsterdam Admirals in 2004, but a season-ending injury to his quadriceps sidelined Washburn's Amsterdam and defensive hopes.

Now, Washburn is soaking it all up in Frankfurt, where the former power forward/center/defensive end/defensive tackle is eager to start anew and learn yet another position. As Washburn sees it, however, all sports and positions are related, which surely makes the transition easier.

"I believe that sports, in general, are a lot about knee-bending and staying low for balance. From basketball, I think I've taken the ability to move your feet," said Washburn, revealing his inner-coach. "Playing defense in basketball is all about moving your feet, and I've used that on the defensive side of the football, and now on the offensive line."

He adds: "I thank God that I played defense before I played offense, because I know a little more about what defenses are running, not all just yet, but a little more. There's a lot of thinking involved on the offensive line."

Washburn may still have a long way to go, but at least he's feeling more comfortable every day, working closely with Galaxy Offensive Coordinator Whitey Jordan on the field and in the film room. As he moves into a starting role for the Galaxy, Washburn is beginning to see the rewards for his labor, and just wants to learn how to play the position the right way.

There has to be a first time for everything, and when Washburn steps on the field to start at tackle for the Galaxy this weekend against the Hamburg Sea Devils, he's hoping it won't be his last.