Correction: In the previous version of this article, the college where Robert Washington verbally committed to was incorrect. Washington has verbally committed to Syracuse. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

It was reported by Bleacher Report that Washington was committed to the University of Florida, which was backed up by his statement in a video posted with the story. But that was recorded on Thursday, according to The Post-Standard, before Washington told multiple reporters that he flipped his decision to Syracuse after recording it and before his Saturday announcement.

Four-star running back Robert Washington has verbally committed to Syracuse, he announced on Saturday.

The Orange landed one of its top priorities of the Class of 2016 and third member of the class in one of the most highly anticipated recruitments in recent memory. Washington was recruited by Syracuse since his freshman year and received an offer from SU shortly thereafter, according to multiple reports.

Washington is ranked as the 21st-best junior running back in the country and received over 40 scholarship offers, according to Scout. He chose Syracuse over Alabama, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina and Texas Christian, Washington.

Over the past several weeks, Washington revealed his final six options one by one on Twitter. When Syracuse was included, buzz from fans about his potential commitment escalated. Some SU fans on Twitter have associated him with the “Restore 44” movement to unretire the number worn by legendary running backs Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little.

No. 44 has been retired since 2005 after Daryl Gross took over as director of athletics. In March, Gross stepped down and Pete Sala took over in the interim. Though no changes have been made to the status of the iconic number, SU Athletics director of communications Sue Edson told Syracuse.com that the number is “discussed often and will continue to be.”

The 5-foot-10, 215 pound running back joins former Indianapolis Colt Delone Carter (Class of 2006), Doug Hogue (Class of 2007) and Averin Collier (Class of 2008) as the only four-star running backs to choose SU in the past 10 years, per Scout. Seniors Ron Thompson and Ashton Broyld are the only four-star recruits on the current roster and safey Marquise Blair is the only one in the Class of 2015.

In his junior year at SouthLake Christian (North Carolina) Academy, Washington ran for 2,233 yards and 27 touchdowns on 239 carries, according to MaxPreps.com. As a sophomore, he ran for 2,512 yards and 28 touchdowns on 219 carriers, per Max Preps. Washington will transfer to East Gaston (North Carolina) High School for the next school year, according to The Charlotte Observer

When Washington arrives at Syracuse, he could make a case for early playing time. Senior Devante McFarlane, senior George Morris II and sophomore Ervin Philips are the only running backs currently on SU’s rosters, but coaches plan on making Philips a hybrid, in which he will play multiple roles. All three running backs in the Class of 2015 are three-star recruits.

Here’s a list of Syracuse’s four-star commits in the past 10 classes, per Scout:

2015 — Marquise Blair — safety

2014 — K.J. Williams — wide receiver

2012 — Ron Thompson — defensive end

2012 — Ashton Broyld — wide receiver

2008 — Averin Collier — running back

2008 — Marcus Sales — wide receiver

2008 — Romale Tucker — defensive end

2007 — Doug Hogue — running back

2007 — Jermaine Pierce — linebacker

2006 — Delone Carter — running back

2006 — Andrey Baskin — wide receiver

Published on April 25, 2015 at 2:52 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds