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Recruiting Diary Volume 5: Washington commits to NC State
Jason Pughe
Updated July 3, 2008...
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James Washington is one of the top running backs in Central Florida this year. After a highly productive junior year last season, the Orlando Boone standout is starting to get some attention from a number of college programs. Washington has agreed to give AthleteVault.com an inside look at his recruitment through a recruiting diary. In volume 5, Washington ends the suspense and commits to NC State.
After the offer from Duquesne, Washington later received offers from Memphis, and NC State. Last week Washington attended NC State’s camp and when he arrived back to Orlando on Friday, he decided to commit to NC State. He is on track to graduate early and will enroll in January at NC State.
“Today I committed to Tom O'Brien and N.C. State,” said Washington. “Coach (Jason) Swepson, the RB coach has been loyal to me the whole time. He hasn't left me wondering about what he wants and what the future holds for me. That is what I have been looking for all along. I have worked hard to get where I am. I will continue to work hard and I know there’s always room for improvement. It all starting with me leaving Edgewater after my sophomore year and when I decided to come to Boone and play for the Braves. Coach Ziglar gave me the chance to compete for the running back spot. I have been training hard and am currently working on getting bigger, faster, and stronger. Last year I earned the starting spot after splitting time in the beginning of the season. Our team really started to play well in the playoffs and we performed well against the high caliber teams. This year, I'm one of the captains of the team and our offense will have a strong emphasis on the running game.”
One of the things that stood out for Washington the most was NC State’s campus.
“N.C. State has state of the art facilities,” he said. “The stadium is always sold out during the season and the fans support their team to the fullest. They even might have to expand the stadium to allow the people that are on the waiting list to buy tickets. The weight room is inside the stadium and it oversees the field. There is a lot a room in there to workout which will allow me to become a better player. Around the corner they have three 100 yard practice fields. I also got a chance to tour the school and everything was built in the last 10 years. I met with one of the academic athletic advisors and we talked about what my schedule would look like in the fall. We also talked about getting me ready to enroll in January and what needed to be done to accomplish that.”
Washington is happy to get this decision behind him and is now focusing on helping Boone get back to the state title game. One thing is for sure, Head Coach Tom O’Brien and the Wolfpack family are getting a top notch, quality, running back in the near future.
“I met with Coach (Tom) O'Brien later on and talked about the future of the program,” said the Boone running back. “N.C. State is a rising program and he wanted me to be a piece of the puzzle. He sees me at running back and that is what I'm going to play. It was at that time that I told him I wanted to play at NC State. He welcomed me to the family and afterwards I sat down with Coach (Jason) Swepson about life in general. He told me that this is only the beginning as I need to have a good year and make sure that I stay out of trouble and keep my grades up. I can’t wait to arrive there in January and I would like to wear my high school number at N.C. State which is #7.”