Jeff Bostic stunned after announcement of induction into Redskins’ Ring of Fame

Jeff Bostic doesn’t hear from Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder too often, so when he got a voicemail from him back in May, the timing of it made the former All-Pro center apprehensive.

Earlier, at a Redskins Charitable Foundation event, Bostic did an interview with team broadcaster Larry Michael and was asked about what he wanted to see from the team this season. His response was ultimately taken out of context, and the three-time Super Bowl champion thought it landed him in hot water with the Redskins owner.

“I said I want to see a healthy Robert Griffin with an improved offensive line they’ve gone out and used some draft picks with, see if they can put the gel together and come together as a team, but I said whoever lines up behind center has to put up or shut up,” Bostic said. “The media says, ’Former Hog Bostic says Robert Griffin needs to put up or shut up.’ That’s not what I said.”

When Bostic got on the phone and heard Snyder and team president Bruce Allen’s voices, he was stunned when they informed him he’d been inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame.

“I was like, wow, it really caught me by surprise. I was floored,” Bostic said after Allen announced the news on Wednesday at the Redskins’ annual “Welcome Home Luncheon” at the Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center.

Bostic, the center on the Redskins’ acclaimed offensive line better known as “The Hogs,” was inducted along with linebacker Monte Coleman, and both will be recognized prior to team’s Week 7 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 25. Coleman, who won three championships along with Bostic and recorded 1,006 tackles and 56.5 sacks in 16 seasons for Washington, was unable to make the luncheon as he is the coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

“You look at the list of people, the 46 that have been inducted, and to think you’re a part of it is very humbling,” Bostic said. “I was an ordinary kid that was part of a group of guys that came together in Washington about the same time. We had a bunch of guys come together, but the majority of them were defensive and offensive linemen and I’m convinced if you can control that part of the game, you’ll win a lot of football games. We had some continuity a lot of teams now don’t have.”

Based on that philosophy, Bostic said he feels the Redskins are starting to turn the corner towards improving after moves like the Trent Williams extension and drafting Brandon Scherff.

“The closer you draft to the ball … in a way I like to tell it, the Redskins have been drafting hubcaps and mirrors, they need to get the engine and the transmission,” Bostic said. “I think they’re finally getting the horsepower that runs a team.”