Highly-regarded 2016 running back recruit Robert Washington already knows what school he'll commit to this Saturday. But do we?
That's the question bugging Syracuse football fans, who are waiting, sort of patiently, for the impending decision from the Huntersville, N.C. product. According to Washington's father, however, Orange fans "don't have to worry" come the big announcement.
WHAT?!
Now, we've been here before. Recently, in fact. Over on the basketball side of things, star recruit Thomas Bryant's mom was all-in on Syracuse for a long time and claimed her son was too. Bryant ultimately chose to attend Indiana, and it ends up the Orange never really stood a chance anyway. Parents like to be part of the process, which is truly great. But they might not always be as "in the know" as they believe themselves to be -- or we hope for them to be. In fact, Robert Washington Sr. even said that he didn't know his son's decision just the other day...
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This isn't to cast doubts on Washington Sr. or Syracuse's recruitment of his son. Far from it. Today's statements can certainly be read as a positive sign for the Orange faithful, and while I wouldn't count it as a lock for SU by any means, this does indicate that we're very much in the race.
According to Washington Sr., who spoke to Syracuse.com's Stephen Bailey:
"A lot of it is just the feeling, but at the end of the day (Robert's) been talking a lot with the Syracuse coaches. building that relationship the way it needs to be built."
He also said that SU's staff has been in "constant communication" with both him and his son, and indicated that's built a lot of trust with Orange running backs coach DeAndre Smith. He also had positive things to say about TCU's Curtis Luper and Michigan's Tyrone Wheatley (formerly a coach here at SU), whose teams are also among Washington's top six choices.
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Washington will be announcing his decision this Saturday, April 25 at Ascending Faith Church in Dallas, N.C. at 3 p.m. ET. He will be choosing between his "top six" schools: Syracuse, Alabama, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and TCU. As a reminder, verbal commitments are not binding and we'd still have to hold out for him to sign a National Letter of Intent next February.
Still: Potentially great news that gives us some more hope going into Saturday, if nothing else!