St. Francis' Zachary Washington earns ‘pretty important’ offer from Michigan State: CCL/ESCC recruiting notes

January was another strong month in Zachary Washington’s recruitment. Seven colleges offered the St. Francis junior wide receiver as he added more interest from major Power Four programs.

But there was one offer that stood out from the rest.

“Michigan State was a pretty important one to me,” Washington said.

That offer wasn’t just another opportunity to play in the Big Ten. It also gave him a chance to play with his former St. Francis quarterback and lifetime friend Alessio Milivojevic, a redshirt freshman with the Spartans.

Washington said the recruiting has already started.

“[Milivojevic] texted me immediately telling me that they want me to come there badly and he wants me to come there,” Washington said. “He sees a good fit for me in the future.”

Michigan State coaches likely wouldn’t mind replicating that bond the duo had on the field during their time together in high school. Washington caught 44 passes for 777 yards and 11 touchdowns during his sophomore season with Milivojevic as his starting quarterback.

Despite the bond, there will be plenty of competition for Washington. Both 247Sports and Rivals list Washington as a three-star wide receiver, a top-15 prospect in Illinois’ Class of 2026. Washington holds offers from schools like Illinois, Indiana, Louisville, Missouri, Purdue and Wisconsin.

In his junior season, Washington averaged 20.5 yards per catch, totaling 655 receiving yards and nine touchdowns off 32 catches, earning him CCL/ESCC All-Conference honors. College coaches have noticed how much his 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame makes his hard to stop.

“[Coaches] always recognize my length, my speed and my catch radius,” Washington said. “They love my catch radius and my ability to get yards after catch … my ability to just get the deep ball and just create separation from defenders.”

Washington plans to commit to a school before the end of his junior season. He’ll make spring visits to schools like Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State and will likely add more.

“Michigan State was a pretty important one to me.”

—  Zachary Washington, St. Francis junior

Wherever he does commit, he’ll look for common traits from a program.

“I’m just looking for a place that’s going to make me a top priority there and a place that’s going to build me into the best receiver I could possibly be,” Washington said. “Try to take me to the next level, to the NFL.”

Claude Mpouma gets used to Mount Carmel, Power Four attention

Claude Mpouma has had quite the year.

A year ago, Mpouma had never played a game of football. As of Wednesday, nearly every major Power Four program offered him a scholarship.

“It’s awesome, it’s amazing,” Mpouma, a Mount Carmel junior offensive lineman, said. “It’s a pretty big thing for me. So for me, being in this position, it’s great.”

Mpouma started playing football for Phillips this past fall after the program’s coach Ivan Simmons watched Mpouma play basketball and asked if he wanted to give football a shot. Once he got some game action, college coaches loved what they saw. Along with his 6-foot-7, 300-pound frame.

Every major program has offered Mpouma up to this point. Michigan, Oklahoma, USC, Auburn, Miami, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Florida State, Iowa State, Northwestern, Missouri and Nebraska are among the schools that offered. Notre Dame joined the mix over the weekend.

Mpouma visited Nebraska in January but he hasn’t had the chance to visit other schools since he’s focused on playing basketball. He still hasn’t worked out a list of schools he plans to visit in the spring but said he’d like to commit before his senior season.

Before then, he’ll focus on getting acclimating himself to Mount Carmel since transferring after his junior football season. While he hasn’t gotten a chance to work with the football team yet, he’s excited for how they could help him accomplish what seemed impossible a year ago.

“I feel like it’s going to be a great learning experience because they won state now for three years in a row,” Mpouma said. “So that means they got great coaches and I feel like learning from them, that type of coaching is going to be pretty good for me and get me ready for the next level.”

Carmel’s Trae Taylor builds offer list

Sometimes it’s hard to be surprised during a recruitment where almost every major Power Four program has offered like Trae Taylor’s. But January proved that there’s always room for a fun development.

Taylor added on to his impressive offer list last month when Oregon, Wisconsin, Louisville, Kansas and Texas A&M all offered. But when Georgia joined the group, Taylor took a moment to appreciate the offer.

“That was kind of like, oh, wow,” Taylor, a sophomore Carmel quarterback, said.

Taylor has continued on with recruitment business as usual for as much as it can be for one of the nation’s top Class of 2027 prospects. He splits his time at school, working out, meeting with college coaches and traveling with his 7-on-7 team 24K.

College coaches were impressed with Taylor’s first season as a varsity starter. Taylor threw for 3,061 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the Corsairs. He added 437 rushing yards and five touchdowns as Carmel finished the regular season at 3-6 in a schedule that featured three state champions — Loyola, DePaul Prep and Montini.

“A lot of coaches say I’m a really good pocket passer, but they were surprised at how good I use my legs, how elusive I was and how good I am able to get yards when stuff breaks down,” Taylor said. “Based on my sophomore season, I thought it was really good.”

Taylor visited Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan and Texas A&M since the season ended and plans on releasing a top-six list sometime in March or April. He will go on spring visits to schools like Nebraska, LSU, Michigan and Illinois and hopes to commit before the start of his junior season or by the start of his second semester of his junior year.

Until then, he’ll keep up his busy schedule as he builds relationships with schools.

“[I plan] to see if I like the school first of all and then also for the academic part, that they have my major and minor,” Taylor said. “And then also, how do I fit in the offense and how do I go with the coaching staff and all that. So basically, how do I see myself at the school and in the offense.”

Brother Rice’s King Liggins sees fruits of labor

After getting a taste of varsity experience as a sophomore, Brother Rice defensive tackle King Liggins wanted to learn from his first year and take his game to another level as a junior.

Liggins did just that. He was part of a dominant Crusaders defensive line that was one of the best run-stopping lines in the state and earned All-CCL/ESCC honors.

“I tried to work on all my weaknesses my sophomore year, trying to turn them into strengths, which I kind of did as far as the running game,” Liggins said. “I feel like I just was way more powerful, explosive this year, way more of a threat to the other team.”

His personal improvements haven’t gone unnoticed. Schools like Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Virginia, Northwestern and Indiana all offered during his junior season. Purdue, Illinois and Vanderbilt joined the mix with offers at the beginning of January.

Liggins visited Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue in the past month and plans to make spring visits to Northwestern again as well as Illinois and Iowa. He’ll plan on committing sometime in June before he gets back on the field for the Crusaders.

Before then, Liggins will learn how schools plan to develop him to reach his dreams.

“I’m looking for somewhere I can really be developed,” Liggins said. “Somewhere I can feel like we can win the College Football Playoff Championship, somewhere that I feel like I can make it to the NFL and get a good education.”