RICHMOND, Va. -- As players headed to the practice field late last season, grumbling about a full-padded practice, Washington Redskins linebacker Will Compton opted for a different mindset.

It’s the same one that carried him to this point, from undrafted free agent in 2013 to a starter two years later. It’s the same one he hopes carries him deep into his career.

“We’re all like, 'Oh man, a padded practice,'” Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan said, “and he was like, ‘Hey, I might have to put the helmet on someone today!’ He definitely has not lost that edge.”

Compton hopes to never lose that edge because it’s the main reason he’s starting at inside linebacker. After joining the Redskins as an undrafted free agent from Nebraska, he made the practice squad as a rookie. He eventually landed on the active roster for a game. Compton played all 16 games in 2014 and became a full-time starter last season.

For Compton, this is not about a journey having been completed. It’s about one that continues, and must be done with one way of thinking. There are times he notices his difference in stature, such as seeing his name far down on the special-teams depth chart when camp opened. That’s how it was his first year, too, but for a different reason.

“It is weird,” Compton said. “There’s always going to be that sense of that undrafted mentality. You watch film and you can never be there. You can never have arrived. Every day I’m watching film and I’m like, ‘Why did I do that? Why did I make that decision?’ There is so much more room for improvement. Taking that first- and second-year mentality and continuing it now will be an advantage for me.”

Compton is one of the most popular players on the Redskins, moving in and out of different groups within the team with ease. As he spoke to a group of reporters earlier this week, tight end Niles Paul wet his fingers as he walked behind Compton, then slapped his neck -- a playful moment.

“He really has the personality that brings people together and rallies guys,” Redskins nose tackle Kedric Golston said. “He’s been really good for the team because he’s such a personable guy and high-energy. He makes it fun to be out there.”

Part of that stems from his mentality: He’s big into motivational speaking and he’s a grinder. Both qualities explain his current status. Compton reminds himself all the time not to get ahead of himself, knowing he’s somehow made it in a sport in which careers can change in a second.

During meetings, Compton will jot down notes that he’ll go over later as reminders for the next day.

“If I do something dumb, I’ll curse myself out in notes,” he said.

The other day he wrote to “use your damn hands; stop just violently running into situations! Be confident when you’re covering Jordan Reed.’ Sometimes he’ll write down to get off the block violently or ask himself why he stepped a certain way and, most importantly perhaps, he’ll tell himself “be confident in your approach.”

That's what he'd do as a rookie; it’s something he’ll always do. He studied notes from the OTAs during the summer. In camp, after going over his notes -- he’s responsible for defensive signals and audibles, so he knows he must be sharp -- he’ll turn to the motivational route. At night, in his hotel room, Compton will say a prayer or he’ll speak out loud to himself about what he must accomplish the next day and the mindset he must take. He might call his mentor. And Compton will remind himself: You’re a leader; execute the play fast, be vocal, be loud.

“I do all those things to keep my head on straight and focused,” he said. “By the time I walk out to practice, I’m talking so much to myself about it that you feel it and you’re trying to stay in that mental state.”

The 6-foot-1, 238-pound Compton does not wow coaches with his physical attributes.

“Out here on the field and in drills, he would probably be our seventh linebacker,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “But once he gets into the games, he communicates and he anticipates plays, he gets in the passing windows, he’s all over the place. And that’s what he is. He’s just a hard-playing, smart football player.”

Compton isn’t about to get comfortable. He still needs to prove he can be a quality starter over 16 games for a good defense. Even then he won’t feel as if he’s arrived. Friends tell him he’s living the dream, that he’s made it. Compton listens, but doesn’t hear their words. They don't know where he's been, he reminds himself; they don't know where he wants to go. The battle between getting there and staying there wages in his mind.

“When I think like that, I snap out of it and remind myself you’ve got to go to work,” he said. “In a lot of people’s eyes I’ve already surpassed what they thought of me. But deep down I know what I still have to accomplish. ... It’s imperative that you keep that chip on your shoulder the whole time. You can't relax.”