THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996 TAG: 9608070424
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FROSTBURG, MD. LENGTH: 88 lines
The words trail him like a ball and chain.
``College football's top receiving tight end.''
That's what they called Jamie Asher at Louisville in 1994. He caught 70 passes that season, more than any Division I tight end.
The Washington Redskins picked it up and threw it in their 1995 and 1996 media guides. It was meant as a compliment, something to give his college career some added luster.
``It's a stereotype that has hung over my head,'' Asher said Tuesday. ``It makes people think I'm one-dimensional, that I can't block. No one at Louisville ever asked me to block. Because you're not asked to do something doesn't mean you can't do it.''
Never being asked to block does, however, mean that Asher has little expertise and experience doing it. It also means he has something to prove to coach Norv Turner and the rest of the Redskins brass before they entrust him with a fulltime job at tight end.
But while he learns one skill, his ability to catch the ball makes him ideally suited to add an extra dimension to the Redskins' passing attack. Asher was Washington's leading receiver with five catches for 45 yards in a 17-7 preseason victory over Buffalo last Friday. They should be the first of many more this season.
For two years, Turner has looked for a Jay Novacek-type to fill the role of primary inside receiver, a tall, rugged, good-hands guy who can get open and hang onto the ball while taking shots from safeties and linebackers. The kind of player who does it so consistently that he draws attention away from the wide receivers, giving them more room to work on the outside.
Asher does that.
``Coming in, we knew he was a talented receiver,'' Turner said. ``He had to learn that everything happens faster in the NFL. The covermen move quicker, play closer. There had to be more urgency in his routes, get to where he was going faster.''
He was just starting to learn all of that when he pulled a hamstring in training camp last summer. He didn't return until five weeks into the regular season and didn't play until the end of a lopsided Week 10 loss at Kansas City.
He finished last season with 14 receptions and a 12.3-yard-per-catch average, prompting Turner to say, ``I think everyone saw what he could be.''
Asher spent the offseason at Redskin Park. He worked out daily with strength coach Dan Riley, adding bulk and muscle. He and tight ends coach Russ Grimm reviewed blocking techniques on film. Grimm showed him how easily an insecure player can shuffle his feet in a mad, desperate attempt to put his body on a defender. And how easily a confident, secure blocker can do the job.
``I'm a different player now,'' Asher says. ``I'm being taught blocking techniques and I'm learning.''
Grimm agrees.
``He's coming along,'' the coach says. ``He's a pretty quick learner. He just needs reps. It takes time.''
Everything in Asher's background has led him to the point where he could become Washington's best pass-receiving tight end since Jerry Smith 30 years ago.
As a kid, his destiny was forged in the backyard of the family home in Indianapolis. His father Bob, a tractor-trailer driver, worked with him endlessly on throwing a baseball, shooting a basketball and catching a football. It paid off. He was an all-state centerfielder, all-state quarterback and defensive back and a starting shooting guard.
``We'd go out back to play pitch and catch and in a few minutes we'd be fighting,'' he said. ``I was a young kid who thought I knew everything. Mom would come out of the kitchen and referee before somebody got hurt. But you know what? Dad is still my all-time favorite coach.
``He taught me about watching the ball all the way into my hands. I remember him telling me one time, `Look, son, you're a receiver. You're going to get hit whether you catch the ball or not. You might as well catch it.' ''
Asher has set a goal of 50 catches this season.
``I'm one of those guys (quarterbacks) Gus, Heath and Trent have a standing joke about,'' he said. ``If they throw a pass to someone else and it's not complete, I always go back to the huddle saying, `Hey, I was open.' If it's complete, I don't say anything.
``Some people think that's greedy. I don't. If it's third-and-8 and I've got a linebacker on me, I'm confident I can make the play. I think you have to have some of that in you to be a good receiver.''
And better blocking is what he - and the Redskins - need for both to attain their goals.
``We're more diversified in our passing game with Jamie, but it doesn't take teams long to figure out that we're more limited in the run,'' Turner said. ``We're trying to get a balance at both and he's working harder at becoming a better blocker.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
Jamie Asher has the hands for the NFL, and he feels his lack of
experience as a blocker won't burst his bubble. by CNB