Update 8/5/19: A report from The Virginian-Pilot states that Robert Washington has joined Old Dominion’s football team and practice for the first time with the Monarchs on Saturday. After he was added to Liberty’s roster and then removed, there were rumors that Washington would join the team as a walk-on this fall.
Update: Robert Washington was suddenly removed from the online roster as news broke of him joining the Flames Monday. Liberty assistant athletic director for athletic communications Todd Wetmore said in an email that “there was some confusion about him, sorry for the mix-up.” There are still some close to the situation who have some confidence that Washington will be part of the 2019 Liberty football team. Be sure to check our Rumor Mill for more details on what we are hearing. We will update the story as we hear more information.
Less than a week after adding Auburn transfer quarterback Malik Willis to the roster, Coach Hugh Freeze and the Flames have landed another big name transfer in former 4-star running back Robert Washington.
Washington was once listed as a top 25 national recruit by CBS and was named to the CBS Junior All-American team while in high school at SouthLake Christian Academy in Huntersville, North Carolina. The 5’10”, 207 pound back had offers from all the household names, including Alabama, USC, and LSU. He took official visits to Alabama, TCU, and Pitt before deciding to play for his hometown team Charlotte.
He spent his 2016 season with the 49ers, playing in all 12 games as a true freshman including 1 start. He finished the year with 97 carries for 489 yards while also adding 13 receptions for 28 yards. Washington began the 2017 season as the starter in the backfield, making the start in the first 3 games of the season while racking up 129 yards and 33 carries. He then abruptly decided to leave the program and transfer.
During his high school tenure, Washington committed to Mississippi State in 2013 before decommitting later that year. He also committed to Syracuse in April 2015 before decommitting in August of that year. Of course, the Flames will host the Orange in the season opener at Williams Stadium on August 31st.
He had over 40 offers in high school and ranked as high as the #4 overall player in the state of North Carolina and the #13 running back prospect nationally by ESPN and #15 by Rivals. As a sophomore he rushed for over 2,500 yards and added over 2,200 as a junior – two of the top 10 single-season rushing performances in Mecklenburg County history. He finished his career with nearly 6,600 rushing yards. Washington transferred to East Gaston High School for his senior season, helping them to a 7-5 record, their first winning season since 2006.
Washington will be immediately eligible and have 2 seasons of eligibility remaining. He will compete with Frankie Hickson, Peytton Pickett, and Joshua Mack.
Hickson, a senior, returns from a 2018 campaign where he rushed for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. Pickett came to Liberty a season ago after coming into the program as a Junior College transfer. He rushed for 470 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2018 after being used primarily as a short yardage back. Mack sat out the 2018 season after transferring in from Maine where he led all of FCS football in rushing in 2017 with 1,335 yards.
