S Nick Washington joins Florida’s 2013 class

By Adam Silverstein
February 18, 2012

Seemingly anxious to pull the trigger for the Florida Gators for months now, four-star safety Nick Washington (Jacksonville, FL) verbally committed to head coach Will Muschamp on Saturday, becoming the eighth member of the team’s 2013 recruiting class and fourth player to decide to don the orange and blue on Junior Day.

One of the top performers at Florida’s Friday Night Lights camp over the summer, Washington has long favored the Gators and has now finally made his intentions public.

The No. 94 ranked player on the recently released Rivals100 and a five-star recruit listed as one of ESPNU‘s top 100 prospects of 2013, Washington had a top six also including Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State and South Carolina.

“I grew up a Florida fan. Both my parents are Florida fans and that’s how I grew up,” he said when discussing his options over the summer.

An assistant coach at Trinity High School, former Gators safety Guss Scott told ESPN – which was first to report Washington’s commitment – that he can play either safety or cornerback for UF in 2013.

“I think he’s one of the smartest kids I’ve ever coached,” Scott said. “One thing you know about a lot of kids, when they get to the next level the mental part is a problem. But he’s one of the smartest kids probably in his age group. He’s a guy that can recognize formations and do everything. That’s his biggest plus, and he’s a disciplined kid. He’s a great kid to coach.”

Also an avid and versatile baseball player, Washington has met with Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan and was told he will be able to join the team if he chooses to participate in both sports in college. He has said previously that he “definitely” wants to play football and baseball at the next level and three of his final six schools (Florida, Florida State, Clemson) were recruiting him for both sports.

Washington (6’0″ 180 lbs.), who will be a four-year starter at Trinity Christian High School as a senior next year, is now the Gators’ fifth commitment on the defensive side of the ball. He is the first secondary player to pledge for Florida in 2013.

Six of the Gators’ eight commitments are listed on the initial Rivals250 and seven can be found on the ESPNU150 watch list. ESPNU also has three of Florida’s pledges ranked as five-star recruits, while all eight come from within the state.

RELATED: 2013 LB Powell chooses the Gators at Junior Day | WR Rodney Adams makes the call for Florida | Legacy Kelvin Taylor commits to Florida Gators

7 Comments

  1. Courtney says:

    Wow what a historic day
    …assuming

  2. Che Grandly says:

    Headed in the right direction. Let’s keep the good mojo going. Tunsil, anyone?

  3. Matt says:

    Sounds like a good day. Wondering though about the multiple offers/commits per position. Someone elsewhere lined them up and well. All I could think is we need more then lb’s and rb’s.

  4. CeeThree says:

    BOOM! (there have been so many today, forgetting which ones I haven’t posted this on yet)

  5. gator says:

    Building a Machine,a Machine I say!

  6. SC_Gator says:

    I’m reading between the lines here a bit but it is interesting that South Carolina didn’t recruit him for both sports. Sounds like pulling him from us would have been an uphill battle either way but interesting just the same.

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