WESTMINSTER — It took nearly an entire year, an unprecedented amount of time spent on the bench and the worst statistics of his career, but Baltimore Ravens running back Willis McGahee is finally displaying the attitude and work ethic that the coaching staff is looking for.
One year removed from admittedly reporting to training camp out of shape and promptly injuring his knee, the former Pro Bowl runner has a healthy body and attitude again.
"I’m a little different, I’m not going to lie to you," McGahee said Tuesday morning in Westminster. "I go with the flow. That’s how you’ve got to be. You can’t go around here moping about things. You just control what you do, and that’s your own destiny."
For McGahee, who has drawn praise from the coaches this summer after taking up ownership in the doghouse last season, it’s a different approach altogether from last year when he was slow to pick up the intricacies of the playbook. McGahee, 27, wound up rushing for a career-low 671 yards while receiving a career-low 170 carries.
And McGahee says he has gone out of his way to clarify where he’s coming from in terms of showing how serious he is about the game.
"No doubt about it, I know I’m not the easiest person to learn how to read," McGahee said. "I send mixed messages. I’m staying focused on being positive."
The coaching staff’s hard-nosed approach hasn’t changed, but they have grown in their approval of McGahee.
And there’s a noticeable difference in McGahee’s enthusiasm and practice habits. He’s finishing runs with power and hustling back to the huddle.
"We’ve got a smarter Willis McGahee, more of a student of the game with a good work ethic," running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery said. "He has totally committed himself to the Ravens’ way that John Harbaugh preaches. He has really taken the fundamentals and the techniques to the fullest.
"He’s really working hard. I’m very proud of Willis. I’m very happy with the way he’s working and with his attitude. It’s a great thing to see. He changed his ways."
And McGahee has changed opinions.
Last year, he regularly skipped offseason workouts and minicamps. That drew the ire of the coaching staff.
Montgomery was anything but pleased with McGahee last August when he reported at a sluggish 236 pounds.
"He’s got to learn what we’re doing," Montgomery said at the time. "You need to be here to learn what’s going on. Willis wasn’t here, so he’s playing catch-up. We’re trying to learn the system first in order for him to be the natural guy that he is. Right now, he’s going to struggle a little bit until he gets comfortable with it, until he understands what we’re asking him to do.
"It still is kind of frustrating because we’re trying to teach him and it’s just not coming as fast as you would like it to, but you know it will come. He’s a veteran guy, so the idea is you have to keep telling it to him and hoping he will buy into it."
However, it’s a different story now.
This year, McGahee looks much leaner than his listed playing weight of 235 pounds.
McGahee has regularly broken free for solid, intermediate runs, also bouncing off tacklers and excelling in short-yardage situations.
After undergoing offseason arthroscopic knee surgery, McGahee is trying to reclaim his starting job from Ray Rice. Rice has taken the majority of the first-team carries and is expected to start Thursday night when the Ravens open the preseason against the Washington Redskins.
"I told Willis, ‘I don’t know what the tape’s going to look like, but I love the way you came to work,’" offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said. "And that’s what, to me, is important. Very seldom have we been around guys that come to work consistently that don’t eventually play well. We focus on the preparation, and I loved his work."
Two seasons ago, McGahee was named to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement for LaDainian Tomlinson as he rushed for 1,207 yards and seven touchdowns while catching 43 passes for 231 yards and a score.
Signed to a seven-year, $40.12 million contract after being acquired via a trade from the Buffalo Bills on March 9, 2007, McGahee was the subject of offseason speculation that he might be cut or traded.
From a salary-cap standpoint, cutting ties wouldn’t have made sense for the Ravens financially as it would have accelerated the remaining prorated guaranteed money in his contract. Based on the way he’s performing since the launch of camp, it might not have been a wise move from a football standpoint, too.
McGahee seems happy to be in Baltimore and maintaining a positive attitude.
"Oh yeah, I’ve been revived," he said. "It’s a new year. I would rather go along and get along than be on the other side."
