“Play the game you’ve played your whole life.”
— BRYCE HARPER, Nationals outfielder
“The most important thing is to realize he’s a very, very important part of the Redskins — he is the face of the Redskins — but he has to understand that everything is not squarely on his shoulders. He’s got to rely on other teammates to work with him. He’s not going to be able to do it by himself. He’s smart enough to realize it’s a team game. He’s very talented and can make some things happen — but in the NFL you can’t take them all on by yourself.”
— DOUG WILLIAMS, former Redskins quarterback and Super Bowl XXII MVP
“No hesitation. Don’t second-guess yourself, your instincts. Go with your gut on your decisions on and off the field. Use your intuition.”
— DALE EARNHARDT JR., NASCAR driver and noted Redskins fan
“He have to be himself, that’s most important thing. It doesn’t matter what other people say or if he gonna make a bad play or good play, he just have to concentrate on his own.”
— ALEX OVECHKIN, Capitals captain
“There’s always going to be the hype about being the face of the franchise, but remember that it is about you and your teammates and what you can build and accomplish together.”
— JOHN WALL, Wizards point guard
“Enjoy the ride because it can turn in a heartbeat. You really have to be a grounded individual, which he is.”
— JOE THEISMANN, former Redskins quarterback
“Don’t add any more pressure to yourself than you already have. No one wants to succeed more. … No one wants to win more. I would just say, ’Hey, relax, take a deep breath, learn as much as you can, go out there and don’t try to make the plays yourself.’”
— HEATH SHULER, former Redskins quarterback
“My dad was a chef and he said when you start trying to please everybody with your cooking, you lose the authenticity. Robert Griffin III knows what he’s about. If he sticks to what he is and sticks to what he does, he’s going to be successful.”
— BRIAN MITCHELL, former Redskins running back
“Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. There have been quarterbacks throughout time that ran their mouth a whole lot when they first came to town. It’s a whole lot better when you don’t make a spectacle of yourself.”
— LEN HAUSS, former Redskins center
“Whatever you do, beat the Cowboys.”
— CHRIS PONTIUS, D.C. United forward
“You have the opportunity to play quarterback for what I believe to be the greatest franchise in sports. Enjoy yourself.”
— JOE GIBBS, three-time Super Bowl champion Redskins coach and Hall of Famer
“Don’t lose to the Cowboys. Just don’t lose to the Cowboys.”
— DEXTER MANLEY, former Redskins defensive end
“Throw to Fred Davis.”
— RYAN ZIMMERMAN, Nationals third baseman who has the Redskins tight end on his fantasy team
“I would just tell the guy be who you are. Just be who you are and listen to the people there at Redskins Park to help guide him through what he’ll have to go through this year. He’s a tremendous player and everybody’s going to be tugging and grabbing at him. He’s got to remember there’s only so much he can do that he’s not going to be able to fulfill every request and every appearance that people want, that he’s still have to be the quarterback of the Redskins and be professional with how he goes about things. … And don’t read the papers.He’s probably had a good sense with all the hype he got last year but there’s not a whole lot down in Waco, having played down there.”
— RANDY EDSALL, Maryland football coach
“Just remember to continue to be yourself. You were picked where you were because of your talent and your work ethic. Stay true to that and just continue to keep working.”
— RANDY WITTMAN, Wizards coach
“Just try to show steady improvement. Don’t try to play outside yourself. Try to learn this offense. Trust Mike Shanahan, I think, would be the big thing. Trust this system. It’s a proven system that works. Take care of yourself. Just be careful when you’re scrambling. You’re going to create a lot of plays with your legs. Try to learn a little bit from Michael Vick. You don’t want to take too many hits unnecessarily. You want to be on the practice field on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday. That’s key for his development. Trust Mike Shanahan. Be there early. Be there late. Set a tone, and trust your God-given ability because you’ve got a lot of it.”
— JON GRUDEN, Super Bowl XXXVII champion coach, current ESPN analyst
“Enjoy it … They’ve been looking for a franchise quarterback for a long time. They have one now and they need to surround him with some good football players to protect him and give him the opportunity to be as good as he can be.”
— SONNY JURGENSEN, former Redskins quarterback
“I think No. 1 you need to be the first one in and the last one to leave. You lead by example, not by the words. Lead by example. Second thing is, you don’t have to do this on your own now. You have 10 other players out there and you’ve got 11 on defense. Just execute the play and the system; don’t feel you have to make every play yourself. That’s how you get into turnovers and mistakes. Those would be the two things I would stress with his ability on the field. I would say publicly, share the credit, take the responsibility and take the blame and come to a decision, even though it’s not fair. Personally, I would’ve told him to keep a lower profile: No commercials, no radio shows, no television shows”
— CHARLEY CASSERLY, former Redskins general manager
“The Redskins are a different franchise. They’re looking for him to obviously be a little bit of a savior right now. Being a young guy I’m sure he’s getting taught by the coaches to go slow, learn the game.”
— ADAM OATES, Washington Capitals coach
“I would prefer to let my performance speak for itself. A lot of celebrities, a lot of people are interested in how you conduct yourself on and off the field. Everything is under a microscope. It’s going to be very hard for him.”
— LARRY BROWN, former Redskins running back
“Study hard, recognize that there are going to be bumps in the road. Every rookie has gone through them. It’s part of the growth process. Lean on your coaches, and he couldn’t have a better one to lean on than Mike Shanahan, who’s coached a ton of great quarterbacks. So lean on them. And don’t expect to be perfect. Strive to be perfect, but don’t expect to be perfect. Expect that there will be bumps in the road and mistakes and learn from them.”
— BILL POLIAN, former Indianapolis Colts general manager, current ESPN analyst
“My advice for RG3 would be to not listen to everything that people @ you on Twitter and stay grounded.”
— CRYSTAL LANGHORNE, Mystics All-Star forward
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