Washington holds five offers

Winter Park (Fla.) linebacker James Washington will start spring practice with five verbal offers to his name.

"So far Iowa State, Illinois, Florida International, Cincinnati, and Duke have offered," Washington said. "They are looking at me as a hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end."

In addition to his offers, Washington says he is also receiving interest from Florida and South Carolina.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound defender says a trio of schools is showing the most contact.

"I would say the most contact is really a three-way tie between Iowa State, Illinois, and FIU," Washington said. "FIU talked about how they are the number one defense in their conference, in the Sun Belt. Illinois talked about being part of the Big Ten. They also talked about having a lot of players from Florida. Iowa State got my quarterback last year, Sam Richardson. They also talked about their defense and all of that stuff."

At this point in his recruitment, Washington has yet to take any visits but expects that to change after he wraps up spring practice at Winter Park.

"I plan on going unofficially to FIU to see what they have got," Washington said. "I am going to try to go during the summer at some time."

When he steps on campus at schools, he is looking for the complete experience as a student-athlete.

"I am just looking for a place that has the right energy, I want to see how the teams practice and carry on," Washington said. "I also want to see the environment, I want an environment that is comfortable for me in college. I want to know more about the community surrounding the school. I also want to learn more about the courses offered at the school because you always have to have a back-up plan. I am interested in majoring in engineering."

With visits still necessary, Washington says he hasn't even thought about naming a leader.

"It is too early to be worrying about that," Washington said.

Academically, Washington has already earned a 970 on the SAT.