Posted on Wed, Aug. 04, 2004
UM FOOTBALL
UM recruit Washington gets released
BY MANNY NAVARRO AND SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN
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Bobby Washington's lifelong dream was to become a star running back at the University of Miami. His dream was cut short Tuesday when the school officially severed ties with the prized Miami Killian recruit.
''He's done,'' UM spokesman Rick Korch said. ``He was granted his release [Tuesday].''
Said Washington: ``When I went into the meeting with my parents [Monday], the guy told me they had heard somebody had taken the [ACT] test for me. They wanted to investigate. But then I found out some [expletive] that I wasn't going to be admitted anyway. So, I said forget it, I'm leaving. I didn't cheat on any test.''
Washington, whose next football stop could be North Carolina State, did not elaborate on why he believes UM was not going to admit him anyway. But a Killian source told The Herald on Tuesday that UM admission officials had grown suspicious that Washington had attempted to have another individual take a third exam (ACT) -- a claim Washington denied.
''I took the test twice, that's it,'' Washington said.
IMPROVED TEST SCORE
The Killian source said the school confirmed Tuesday with SAT and ACT testing services that Washington had officially taken each exam once.
''It has to be that somebody tried to screw him up,'' the source said. ``Bobby wouldn't do something like that.''
A learning-disabled student in high school, Washington scored a 750 on the SAT in June 2003, and a 24 on the ACT (roughly equal to 1,110 on the SAT) in February after taking classes to prepare for the exam.
The SAT was taken conventionally with the general student population and in the regularly allotted time. The ACT was untimed and was read to him by a Killian counselor.
A source close to the high school testing process independently verified Washington's claim about his test-taking environment and his scores.
The significant jump in his test score was red-flagged by UM's admission office. Washington, his high school coach Billy Rolle and two sources say the NCAA has cleared him.
Washington ran for 2,132 yards and 23 touchdowns and finished his high school career second to current UM running back Frank Gore as Miami-Dade County's second-leading rusher all-time. He said he was grateful to coach Larry Coker for giving him a chance at UM, a school he committed to early as a senior.
He said the coaching staff, including Coker, spoke to him Monday after his meeting with school officials. Three sources said Washington also was accompanied by a lawyer and a former assistant who once coached him at Killian. Washington said the UM coaches encouraged him to wait and to allow the office of admission to investigate his test scores.
In the end, Washington said he didn't want to be forced to sit out a year on someone else's terms.
WASHINGTON DEFIANT
''I'm not going to sit out for nobody,'' Washington said. ``I'm better than everybody they brought in. Ain't nobody better than me on that roster. The only reason they brought those other guys in was because they thought I wasn't going to make it.''
Washington said he did not have any immediate plans to transfer and said, ``I ain't playing this year.''
However, a source close to the Wolfpack football program said N.C. State is trying to admit Washington by Friday's first practice.
N.C. State has four Killian graduates on the team. There are 15 Wolfpack players from South Florida.