St. Francis receiver Zachary Washington soars to national profile
Wide receiver Zachary Washington was flying.
Literally. The St. Francis High School senior flew to Miami for the OT7 national 7-on-7 championship in late June, as part of Midwest Boom.
That’s the type of profile the Michigan State-bound athlete owns.
“He’s worked his butt off, he’s done a good job of being a team leader and he’s put himself in a position to go play big-time football and Michigan State should be lucky to have him,” said St. Francis coach Bob McMillen.
In 2024 McMillen saw Washington earn Class 5A all-state honors by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association after he caught 32 passes for 655 yards and 9 touchdowns, and scored 3 touchdowns on kickoff returns.
Washington added a touchdown on a 92-yard run. When needed on defense as a center field-type safety, he broke up 4 passes.
As a junior, Washington caught 44 passes for 777 yards, 11 touchdowns.
He does indeed fly on a football field.
“His long speed is amazing, he’s a 4.3 kid,” McMillen said. “He’s got great hands, he runs extremely good routes, and he’s a kid that’s able to make people miss in small spaces.
“When you have that type of skill set at that position, you should be a pretty good receiver.”
Twenty-one Division I colleges agreed, giving the 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior scholarship offers according to Rivals.com. Washington chose Michigan State over programs such as Ole Miss, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Indiana.
“I just loved the campus there, I loved Coach ‘Hawk’ (receivers coach Courtney Hawkins) and his résumé, and all the players he’s sent to the (NFL),” Washington said.
“When I was there (June 6) on my official visit the brotherhood there was just nice, and they had no locker room issues, and it just seemed like a place I wanted to be.”
Washington wants to be there so much he’ll graduate high school in December so he can start learning the Michigan State Spartans’ system. There, he’ll reconnect with former St. Francis teammate Alessio Milivojevic, a redshirt freshman quarterback.
“I just love Michigan State, I can’t wait to get up there,” Washington said.
“They loved my speed, my ability to take the top off. Coach Hawk says they’re able to use me anywhere in their offense as a playmaker. They can line me up anywhere,” he said.
His speed downfield can stretch a defense, but St. Francis’ new offensive coordinator Lonny Stare will position Washington in a variety of spots to create mismatches, McMillen said.
The Spartans’ passing game benefits by returning not only Washington but fellow three-year starting receivers Tanner Glock and Dario Milivojevic, Alessio’s younger brother.
“We’ve been playing with each other our whole lives. The chemistry’s always going to be there and it is going to become big this year as seniors,” said Dario Milivojevic, who in 2024 caught 36 passes for 559 yards and 7 touchdowns. He recently committed to Southern Illinois.
Before Washington leaves for Michigan State, he figures he’s got unfinished business at the high school level.
“We’ve just been stopped short at the semifinals three years in a row,” he said. “This year I want to prove to everybody that we can win state.”