After spending his summer traveling to a number of schools, including Ohio State, Huntersville, North Carolina 2016 running back Robert Washington noticed that maybe he was beginning to buy into the hype of recruiting a bit too much.
"I had to take a break and clear my head for a while," Washington told Eleven Warriors. "So I took a break from recruiting for the first six weeks of the season, I really wanted to focus on my team without the distractions, it's gone great. We're 6-1 right now and making progress, getting stronger as a team."
An impressive person off the field and a special talent on it, Washington has never had a problem keeping things in perspective. Now, with his junior season halfway complete, there's a little more time for the 5-foot-10, 210 pound running back to focus on his future, not just his team's success. The recruiting process, as glamorous as it can be at times, can also wear you down. Washington, with 35 offers, understands the grind more than most because he's been knee deep in it for more than two years already.
"I'm probably a little more mature than most people at this stage," he said of his recruitment. "That's kind of a blessing and a curse, though. The media, a lot of the time, is really just waiting for the 'next big thing' to hype and I've been on the scene for a while, so I think occasionally I get overlooked. How many kids have blown up an fallen off since I was in 8th grade? I'm just worried about being consistent. I had 1000 yards as a freshman, I led the country in rushing among the 10th graders and I have the respect of my coaches and coaches recruiting me. I can't change a ranking or an opinion about me, but if I do the work I can help my team win a state championship. We made the state finals my freshman year, and we won it last year, that's all that matters to me. I want to be great."
After seven games, Washington has more than 1300 yards rushing and 16 total scores. He says those numbers could, and would be bigger if he or his coaches cared about them. He believes the focus is on the correct things, like keeping him healthy and fresh for his college and — hopefully his professional — career.
"Stats and stuff like that don't really matter to me," he continued. "Right now, what matters is winning and taking as few hits as possible, to keep my carries low. This season, I'm averaging 19 carries a game, and for my career it's been 15. That's by design. I've heard about guys going into college with 1000 carries in high school and that's way too much wear and tear. I'm at 443 in almost three years, and I think that will be a big benefit for me come college."
Talking about college football is the elephant in the room for any big-time prospect, and it's something that Washington can't avoid, whether he wants to or not. In recent months, thanks in part to his busy visit schedule over the summer, Washington has been linked to a number of schools including Ohio State, Michigan and others. He doesn't care much for the idea that people know his thoughts better than he does.
"I don't have any favorites," he said. "Stuff like that is one of the reasons why I needed to take a break. My decision will come down to where I feel the most comfortable and which schools are recruiting me the hardest, and there's a lot of schools recruiting me pretty hard right now. Ohio State is probably coming after me the hardest, and they've made it clear to me that I'm a priority for 2016."
Enjoyed the love @OSUCoachMeyer have shown... I can see why his players love to play for him pic.twitter.com/NmKiMsCPuI
— Robert Washington (@RDubb_5) October 9, 2014
In return, Washington said his own attention to the process is returning. He's not ignoring it, at least.
"I'm getting back into the recruiting a little bit, and Coach (Urban) Meyer and I have been talking a lot. I love what they're doing with their offense and (Meyer) said he wants me to be a Buckeye and believes I could be a game-changer for them, and that means a lot."
Washington, who will return to Ohio State for The Game against Michigan, believes his running style is what makes him a good fit for the Buckeyes. Urban Meyer's teams are known for their strong ground game and versatile running backs, which suits him just fine.
"I like the old-school style of football," he said. "I don't care if you put eight, nine guys in the box. I'm going to fight for yardage. Old school, that's how I want to be. I don't consider myself a 'system' back for any system, I'm a balanced football player. Ohio State's offense is one that allows running backs to use power, speed, balance and vision, you have to be a complete back to play in that offense. I've run a 4.41-40 hand-timed and a 4.47 on laser, so my speed is there, but I think it surprises some people."
