Bobby Washington never got his chance at Miami. His twin sons are hoping to live his dream
One is a heat-seeking missile in the middle of Miami Palmetto’s defense, jarring opponents’ helmets off and turning even opposing highlights into his own with his jaw-dropping recovery speed. The other is a jitterbug with the ball in his hands, sometimes just about all the Panthers have on offense when everything else bogs down and they do everything they can to get him the ball.
They are both the sons of one of the most dominant players in Miami-Dade County history, a recruiting fascination of the early message board era, when recruiting websites weren’t yet mainstream only a player such as Bobby Washington Sr. could garner major headlines. They are Bobby Washington Jr. and Robby Washington — the twin sons of the former Killian superstar — and they’re following in the legacy of their iconic father, hoping to live the dream he never had a chance to with the Miami Hurricanes.
“It’s actually surreal,” Bobby Sr. said.
The original Washington saga was ugly and left just about everyone unhappy. Washington was a five-star running back, who finished his high school career with the second-most rushing yards in Miami-Dade history behind only Frank Gore, and he badly wanted to play for the Hurricanes. He orally committed to them before his senior year and signed with them in the Class of 2004, and then got told his admission would be delayed because the university was concerned someone else might have taken his ACT for him. Washington steadfastly denied the allegation, but went to play for the NC State Wolfpack, only playing time was inconsistent in North Carolina, so he wound up finishing his college career with the FCS Eastern Kentucky Colonels. Along the way, he had two twin boys, both of whom took his name, and he introduced them both to football at 3, first playing for the Richmond Perrine Giants and then the Tamiami Colts.
Almost 20 years later, there’s a sequel, which has had its fair share of twists and turns already, but, at least so far, is pointing toward a happier ending. Miami has recruited the twins for a little more than a year, and Robby Washington first tried to commit to the Hurricanes last summer, although it’s not clear whether former coach Manny Diaz and the old staff ever actually accepted his commitment — there were no hurricane-swirling GIFs or acknowledgment of his pledge from any of the major recruiting services — and so he announced a decommitment just a few months later. The twins committed again — and this time for real — in March, then had a brief dalliance with the Louisville Cardinals before announcing they were shutting down their recruitments last week.
Still, the Washingtons are at their fourth school in four years — they moved from Tennessee to Tampa and then to South Florida, where they first played at their father’s alma mater before transferring to Palmetto after the Cougars had a coaching change earlier this year — and are an object of recruiting fascination both because of their bloodlines and, increasingly, the highlights they’re producing each weekend.
Bobby Jr., a three-star linebacker in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2023, introduced himself with an out-of-nowhere, touchdown-saving tackle in the Panthers’ preseason tune-up Aug. 18, then knocked the helmet off a Homestead player with another bone-crunching hit in Palmetto’s season-opening 19-7 loss Thursday at Tropical Park. Robby, a four-star athlete and the No. 20 prospect in Florida, turned a short slant into a 60-yard touchdown last weekend and then made another highlight-reel catch in Week 1.
They both take inspiration from their father.
“Before this game, I watched his film,” Robby said last week and then, asked to describe his father’s game, called him, “unstoppable.”
Added Bobby: “He introduced me and my brother to the game, and we just loved it from there.”
In the twins’ earliest days, Bobby Sr. was part coach, part personal trainer and part superfan — just like so many parents are. He pushed them to run hills, taught them how to find and hit holes as halfbacks and yell from the sidelines to make sure they were going hard on every single play.
About 15 years later, all those values are still central to the twins’ games. Robby plays wide receiver and tailback, and the Panthers’ most consistent offensive stretches in Game 1 came when they snapped the ball right to the senior and let him try to find creases in the Broncos’ defense. Bobby Jr. goes full speed all the time and flies around fast enough to make those unconfirmed reports about his 4.4-second time in the 40-yard dash not seem totally ludicrous.
After every practice in Pinecrest, the Washingtons are the last two on the field, running sprints at their father’s behest, trying to get their fifth star just like their dad.
“I’m on them about that,” Bobby Sr. said, “because you’ve got to do a little more. You’re expected to do more.”
Their name could be a burden and a reason to avoid Coral Gables. Instead, they wear it as an honor and Bobby Sr. wants to see them do what he couldn’t.
When everything fell apart for Bobby Sr. at Miami, the coaching staff mostly stood behind him. One of those coaches was Mario Cristobal, who had been the offensive line coach for less than a year and, as a Miami Columbus alumnus, helped recruit Bobby Sr.
“Actually, I love it because I know what hands they’re going to be in over there with Cristobal,” Bobby Sr. said. “I don’t really mind my sons going over there because I know they’re in good hands and I know that he’s going to get them a good opportunity to play because the best man plays over there right now since Cristobal is there. There’s no favoritism.”
He’s already thinking about the day when he’ll finally see a Washington suit up for the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium next year, but it’s not what gets him most excited.
“I’m just waiting for the day when it’s time to go on campus,” he said. “The day that I’ve got to take stuff to the room and everything like that, that’s what I’m waiting for.”
