Nearly two decades ago, LSU wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy was part of a Washington team that claimed a national championship and two Rose Bowl appearances.Fast-forward to 2009, and McCarthy is preparing to see his alma mater from an alien perspective: the opposing sideline.”It’s strange because you walk down that tunnel, because you’re so used to coming to the home sideline, and now you’re going to the opposing sideline,” McCarthy said.McCarthy has added another collegiate national championships to his resumé: receivers coach for LSU’s 2007 national championship squad. Both championships were won during his first year on the squad, though he laughs at the idea of being a good luck charm.McCarthy wasn’t a star at Washington. Coming out of high school as a 140-pound option quarterback, he knew he would have to earn every opportunity he received.”After I graduated I could have technically still played on the [youth football] Pop Warner team,” McCarthy said with a grin. “The weight limit for the team was 145 pounds.”McCarthy received scholarship offers from some smaller schools near his hometown of Boca Raton, Fla. But McCarthy attended Long Beach City College in Long Beach, Calif., for two years to showcase his ability to bigger schools.Washington showed some interest in McCarthy after his time in junior college, and he decided to try to walk on to the football team. It was a welcome challenge for McCarthy, who said walking on built his character.”I had to pay my way through financial aid, Pell Grants, minority affairs money and working two jobs to go along with playing football,” McCarthy said. “I was able to pay my way until I earned myself a scholarship.”McCarthy said he learned invaluable lessons from then-Washington coach Don James by observing his practice methods and the way he treated anybody associated with the team. McCarthy said James’ examples not only helped him as a coach, but also in his development as a man.McCarthy was redshirted during Washington’s undefeated national championship season in 1991 and graduated with his bachelor’s degree in education in 1994.”I still use [the championship season] today for recruiting,” McCarthy said. “We were a championship team because we were surrounded by championship people.”McCarthy then made his mark in the coaching world. During stints at Nevada and Central Florida, McCarthy helped turn Nate Burleson and Brandon Marshall from collegiate stars into successful NFL receivers. McCarthy said he spent his efforts not only on building solid football players but also on shaping as good men as well.”I try to build them as a whole,” McCarthy said. “I get just as much gratification watching these kids grow into men as I do watching them grow into good football players.”Entering his third season with LSU, McCarthy’s resumé is growing even more impressive. Two more of his receivers, former LSU standouts Early Doucet and Demetrius Byrd, have been drafted by NFL teams, and McCarthy could have another player drafted following this season. Senior receiver Brandon LaFell has blossomed under McCarthy’s tutelage, garnering first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors last season from the Associated Press.McCarthy said he learned throughout his career the importance of all members of a team striving toward one common goal, and he’s taking that approach back to Washington with him.”We all have a role,” McCarthy said. “From the guy who drives the truck up to Seattle to the coaches on the field to the players on the field making plays.”—-Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]