The Details: Mickens Ready For Opportunity To Lead
April 15, 2015 | Football, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
All of a sudden, Jaydon Mickens is one of the old guys. When it comes to experience, the receiver has about as much as anyone on Washington's roster.
As he prepares for his last season in purple and gold by going through one final series of spring practices, the veteran joked that he is starting to feel his age.
“My back hurts,” he said with a laugh as he approaches his 21st birthday.
A college career goes by in a flash. The years flip from one to the next marked by signing days, fall camps, bowl games and spring practices. One of 13 seniors, Mickens has compiled the lessons learned through each step to prepare himself for his opportunity to lead.
“I was brought up with a lot of good veterans who talked to me and let me know how to play the game at this level,” Mickens said. “I'm prepared for it. I'm ready to take the job and do what the guys taught me, while bringing it down to the younger guys.”
When he was a freshman, it was former Husky quarterback Keith Price who taught him how to run the right routes, how to high-point the football and how to read a defense.
Price showed Mickens, “how to play this game at a level I didn't know the game could be played at. He took me under his wing and taught me a lot of good stuff.”
Now it is Mickens' turn to teach.
“They're not going to always make the right decisions and we're going to have some ups and downs, because that's football,” Mickens said. “I'm just trying to let them know I'm behind them 100 percent.
“We know nothing is perfect, but we want it to be as close to perfect as possible. That's how you win football games.”
When Mickens was a child, his mother, Judy, taught him to be prepared for anything.
“If your first option doesn't work, you've got to have a secondary plan in your back pocket,” he said. “She let me know how to calm down, reevaluate things and take the next step to make it work.”
As both a leader and playmaker, her advice has proven valuable as Mickens tries to set an example Washington's younger players can follow.
“A lot of these guys are looking up to me, because I've played a lot of football here – and I say that humbly,” he said.
For Mickens, the offseason has been about new experiences. While football remains his focus, he spent time between the Huskies' bowl game and spring football working as a busboy at RAM Restaurant and Brewery in the University Village.
There were times the receiver would be cleaning tables while patrons enjoyed a meal and talked Husky football. Mickens' name came up in conversation more than once. Some people recognized the receiver, others didn't.
“I was brought up with a lot of good veterans who talked to me and let me know how to play the game at this level. I'm prepared for it. I'm ready to take the job and do what the guys taught me, while bringing it down to the younger guys.”
I got to see what it was like on the other side,” he said. “It was kind of weird sitting in there, bussing tables and hearing a lot of guys talking about Husky football.
“I laughed to myself a lot of times with people not knowing I'm right behind you.”
But, while he enjoyed seeing what “other people go through,” Mickens' primary focus is on football.
“I love football and I'm never going to give this sport up,” he said. “If they make bionic legs when I'm 70, I'll still going to try and play.”
Mickens has stepped on the field in 40 games through three seasons. He has 145 receptions (No. 6 all-time in school history) with 10 of those resulting in touchdowns. He is a veteran. A leader. He is someone the Huskies will rely on to help set the course as the program grows under coach Chris Petersen.
Keith Price pointed Mickens in the right direction as a freshman. Now it is the receiver's turn to tutor.
“Every time I line up, when the eyes are on me, I have to do something right,” he said. “I have to make a play.”
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