Recruiting history lesson as Miami's version of the Curse of the Bambino is lifted with a third 5-star now committed: "The jinx is gone now"
George W. Bush was President. “Yeah” by Usher was the No. 1 song and Miami was just three years removed from a national title in football.
It was 2004.
That also was the last time (using available On3 database rankings and then prior service rankings) the Miami Hurricanes had three or more 5-stars in a single class. There were five of them that year depending on the service: WR Lance Leggett, RB Charlie Jones, LB James Bryant, LB Willie Williams and RB Bobby Washington.
It was a class that ranked No. 4 in the nation.
From then until Dec. 15, 2022 – a string of 18 years – Miami didn’t have a class with three or more 5-stars. It was finally last week that Samson Okunlola‘s commitment gave Miami three in this class, joining Cormani McClain and Francis Mauigoa.
Longtime Miami recruiting fans might recognize one of those names from way back in 2004: Bobby Washington. Yes, that’s Bobby Washington, Sr., the father of two commitments in this year’s class, Robby Washington and Bobby Washington, Jr.
Something even crazier? The day that Bobby, Sr. signed with Miami on Feb. 4, 2004, was the same day the twins were born.
“What I remember about that day is she wasn’t supposed to have them yet – I signed and wound up going straight to the hospital,” Bobby, Sr. told CaneSport. “I got a phone call after I signed, rushed there right after signing, I didn’t even have time to enjoy the signing. It was signing, then the kids, it went down like that. It was a great day.”
The great feeling didn’t last, at least not as it pertained to Bobby Sr. and Miami. Bobby, Sr. says University of Miami admissions questioned his test scores and wouldn’t admit him. He wound up having to enroll at NC State instead.
“It was speculation I cheated on the test, but I didn’t,” Bobby, Sr. said. “Everything was done the right way, and I took two different tests. Miami was questioning it, just Miami admissions. (Donna) Shalala didn’t let me in. It was crazy.”
To hear Bobby, Sr. tell it, that moment was the beginning of the end of greatness for the football program. And if you just look at the team’s results, well he’s not wrong. Miami had won 11 or more games in four consecutive seasons, but starting in 2004 has now only won 10 or more games once in a 19-year span (that was in 2017 when the team lost its final three games).
It’s not the Curse of the Bambino, but it’s close.
“They had problems ever since they wouldn’t let me in, but not anymore,” Bobby, Sr. says. “They’ve got some Washington’s now! The jinx is gone now.”
Bobby Sr. remembers the swagger of the Miami program when he signed, and he wants to see that – and the winning ways – come back.
“When I signed I just remember the tradition of winning, going to work,” he said.
This weekend Bobby, Sr. is with his sons on the Miami campus for an official visit.
“It’s very exciting,” dad said. “We get to see what’s going on, what the coaches are going to do, things that need to get done. I’m excited about the future of the program.”
That future, of course, includes his sons.
“It’s crazy because of the legacy he has there, that I was born on the same day he signed there on Feb. 4,” Robby says. “He paved the way for us even though he didn’t wind up going there. It’s big shoes that we have to fill.
“This class we have, I think it’s the turning point for us right here. We’re coming to get the job done. We will come in and work hard, do what we have to do, be Day 1 impacts.”
Perhaps Bobby, Sr. best sums up the oddity of his being part of the last major 5-star recruiting class until the one that now includes his sons.
“It’s crazy,” he says. “That’s a story right there.”
