Jacob Washington's decision is in.
The four-star WR from Marrero (La.) Shaw High in New Orleans committed to Michigan on Monday. Missouri was the other finalist for the nation's No. 68-rated wide receiver, who spent the final weekend of June up in Ann Arbor for an official visit.
After two trips up to Michigan, Washington's connection with New Orleans native Ron Bellamy loomed the largest when making his decision.
"Michigan has a winning culture ... it speaks for itself to go along with a world-class education. It was the best decision for me and my family," Washington told Rivals. "Given my connection to Coach Bellamy, him being from New Orleans and going to my school, I have a strong relationship with him and a strong connection with him."
"It was special to me and meant a lot to my family, not to mention he's great at developing players and putting them in the draft," he continued. "We developed a strong relationship based on trust and respect. He's a great coach, a great person and I look forward to being under his leadership and being developed by him."
The relationship with Bellamy was compounded by Washington's time around Sherrone Moore this past weekend.
Michigan's first-year head coach has maintained a strong presence in the blue-chipper's recruitment, making it easy to see the vision he has.
"Coach Moore is a great offensive mind and a proven winner at the college level," said Washington. "I have a great relationship with him and we've communicated numerous times during my process. He checked in on me about Michigan and my place in the program, how he values me, and his vision for me for the future and the next few years."
Michigan edged out Missouri for one of the best in The Boot for this 2025 cycle.
The Wolverines have inked four players from Louisiana since the Rivals era started in 2003. Now, Bellamy has two commitments from his home state already on board.
"It was definitely a hard decision between Missouri and Michigan. I had a great relationship with Coach (Jacob) Peeler and Missouri's a great school, but Michigan checked all my boxes. It's a great program and it's where I saw the best version of myself," Washington said.
"Both of us worked hard to be in this position and going to the same spot is special to me," he added on recent 4-star RB commit Jasper Parker out of Shaw. "We have that New Orleans connection and we're going up to Ann Arbor to do something special and make history."
