Shaq coming off huge junior year
Shaquille Washington may never be the biggest or even one of the biggest players on any football field he steps onto, but no one questions his ability.
At 5-foot-9 and 160-pounds, Washington is bound to have some doubters. At camps and combines his size may be a bit of a liability. It's tough to argue with his results from on the field, however.
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This fall for Maple Heights, Ohio, Washington passed for more than 2,000 yards and 28 touchdowns through the air, while rushing for 1,600 yards and 21 scores in 15 games. Those are eye-popping numbers, no matter what level of football you're playing.
While "Shaq" was happy with his own personal performance this year, it's safe to say he would have traded a few of those touchdowns for a victory in the state championship game. Maple Heights lost that game in a blowout.
"I'm definitely trying to hit the recruiting process now," he said. "I'm getting read to go to the Army All-American combine coming up in January. I'm training with Raw Talent Sports. Basically I'm just now getting out of football, since we went to the state championship game.
"Since I was probably one of the best athletes on the team this year they put me at QB, and we were running a spread offense. In college I'll be a receiver in the slot."
Though Bowling Green is the only school to extend an offer to Washington up to this point, it's clear that more will soon be on the way. Interest from big-time programs is at an all-time high.
"I just got word today that North Carolina's been talking to us, so I'm gonna start talking to them hard. Ohio State ... I talk to them on a weekly basis. Michigan, Cincinnati, Central Michigan and Ball State, along with Georgia, too. That about covers it.
"I don't have any favorites but I do like a couple of schools early, such as Cincinnati, Michigan and Ohio State. I'm still open, though. It's not that I prefer them, really, it's just that they're the schools I've been drawing the most interest from."