James Washington was interested in playing football for Syracuse before Syracuse was interested in recruiting him.

To Sinclair Brown, his Winter Park (Fla.) High School wide receivers coach, the defensive end/linebacker from Florida’s intrigue with the Orange was a surprise.

‘It was shocking to hear, that that was the number one school he was asking about,’ Brown said in a phone interview. ‘He just said the whole school and the background, and the history, and he’s seen all these movies about Jim Brown and the other kid (Ernie Davis). He did research on his own.

‘Then once the coaches came and told him how they plan on using him, he just got really excited about it.’

Washington liked Syracuse so much that he gave the Orange his verbal commitment to join the Class of 2012 on Thursday. The 6-foot-3, 220 pound Washington, who can play defensive end or linebacker, is the seventh recruit to commit to Syracuse in the Class of 2012. He is rated a three-star recruit by both Rivals.com and ESPN, and a two-star recruit by Scout.com.

Washington chose Syracuse over a plethora of other options. He received offers from Iowa State, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Illinois, Cincinnati, Purdue and Duke, among others.

And apparently, Syracuse was always at or near the top of that list. Brown said he worked as a mentor for Washington throughout his recruitment, assisting him with receiving offers and meeting coaches. Washington was always waiting for Syracuse to come see him, he said.

‘I remember last year as a junior he asked at the beginning of the season had Syracuse called or anything,’ Brown said. ‘I ended up sending a couple of emails and nothing came through, and then finally once they came … that’s the school he’s been waiting on.’

Rivals.com Florida analyst Chris Nee said Washington is a prolific pass rusher whose biggest strengths are his ability to get into the backfield and his versatility to play either defensive end or outside linebacker.

Nee said Washington is a north-to-south-type player, which means his main goal is to break into the backfield. He’s also good at finishing a play once he reaches the ball carrier. For a Syracuse defense that strives to attack and break into the backfield, Washington seems like a perfect fit.

‘He does a good job with finishing plays,’ Nee said. ‘He told me he racked up 15 sacks last year, I couldn’t find official stats but watching his tape I could tell he did have numerous sacks on the season.

‘When I talked to him in the spring, he gave me his offers, but as we were chatting, he said at that time Syracuse was pretty far up there. And then he called me about a week later and again reasserted that Syracuse was among his top three, between them, Iowa State and I want to say Florida International at that time.’

Washington said he did a lot of research online about Syracuse, both the university and the football program. Bobby Van Warner, one of Washington’s teammates at Winter Park, is the son of two SU alums and also has interest in playing for Syracuse. Washington talked to Van Warner’s parents to get a sense of what Syracuse is like as well.

The defensive end/linebacker committed to Syracuse without even taking a visit.

‘They had a top-10 defense in the nation, they really get after the ball,’ Washington said in a phone interview. ‘And I talked to some alumni about the campus and they said it was really nice, so I checked it out online and I decided.’

Washington was mainly recruited by SU offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Greg Adkins and defensive ends coach Tim Daoust. Adkins and Washington developed a strong connection based on trust throughout the recruiting process. Washington said he researched the things Adkins told him, and everything he said checked out.

His discussions with Daoust were mainly about defensive schemes. Washington ‘loved’ the speed of the Syracuse defense, Brown said. And whether he’s at defensive end or outside linebacker, Washington will now have a chance to contribute to that speed and get into the backfield in the uniform he has wanted to wear for quite some time.

‘They think if he can come in as a defensive end, come and put the weight on, then they want to keep him there,’ Brown said. ‘But if not, he’s going to be a great stand-up pass rusher.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on June 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr