A few minutes with ...

FOXBOROUGH – Earlier this week at Gillette Stadium, receiver Kelley Washington reflected on how he first started playing football, his roots, and what would be his perfect day.

How did you first get into football?
“I was persuaded to by my high school football coach. He knew I was a good athlete. He told me to come out. I was into basketball, a big-time basketball player, and baseball. He thought I could help the team. I went out there and being an athlete was one of the better players on the team.”

Never played Pop Warner?
“That’s right.”

What position did you play? Was it a tough adjustment?
“When I first started, I was a defensive back. I could go out there and run and cover anybody. When they threw the ball up, I had the hands to go up and intercept it. I grew into becoming a quarterback.”

You grew up in Stephens City, Virginia. What is that area like?
“Stephens City is a small town, about an hour from Washington DC. It’s kind of one of the small towns where there is one traffic light through the whole town, and everybody knows who you are, and knows your family. Basically, I made a name for Stephens City, Virginia.”

What is your favorite sport?
“Basketball. I’ve always thought I was going to become an NBA player. I still think that’s my best sport.”

Just curious, then, why not pursue a basketball career?
“Actually, money. Baseball came and gave me an opportunity to become a professional at 17 years old, so I took that. I always dreamed I would play basketball somewhere else other than high school, and I got a college scholarship to play basketball. I went off to play baseball, but always in the back of my head I knew I could play basketball.”

What would be the perfect day for you?
“Definitely a nice summer day where I could get up around noon, go outside and enjoy the weather. I would get in one of my cars and enjoy the scenery. I really like water. I like to drive and just look at water sometimes. Pull up to a lake, and just think about my family, and my grandmother, who passed away. I do that a lot. I like to meditate.”

What are some of your hobbies?
“Reading quotes. Listening to my mentor, T.D. Jakes, a pastor down in Dallas, Texas. Seeing how my family is doing.”

Favorite quote or saying?
“It would probably be from Vince Lombardi – ‘man’s finest hour is when he’s worked his heart out for a cause that is good and lies totally exhausted on the battlefield victorious.’ That doesn’t have to do with football. It has to do with anything.”

You mentioned your family quite a bit …
“We’re a small family. They still live in Virginia. I come from a single-parent home. I have my mother, my brother, my uncle and my little niece. That’s basically my family. I just like to make sure they’re all right spiritually, financially, emotionally. If everything is all right with them, everything is all right with me. Football only lasts so long but family is going to be there for life. I definitely like to give them a lot of time.”