(Update: Wednesday. 9:48a – Jason Emerich has given his verbal commitment to the Orange after a second campus visit yesterday. The Fizz reported yesterday Emerich would be on campus Tuesday. The Fizz spoke to his father over the weekend. He is the ninth member of SU‚Äôs recruiting class for ’12 and the sixth this month to give his verbal.
“I really got a good feel for the coaches, and we get along great,” Emerich told the P-S. “I’m real excited about the football program. I think Coach Marrone has it going in the right direction.”
The win is also important because it keeps Emerich away from UConn and Coach P. He was being recruited by lower-tier schools like Akron, Temple and Buffalo as well.)
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Offensive lineman Jason Emerich from Blue Mountain High School in Schuylkill Haven, PA is making a campus visit to Syracuse today. Emerich is listed at 6’4” 275 lbs. heading into his senior season at Blue Mountain, and is rated as a two-star recruit on Scout.com. Syracuse has already offered a scholarship to Emerich, as have five other schools, including Coach Paul Pasqualoni and UConn. According to Emerich’s father, the Orange may be the leader.
“He visited UCF this weekend, and is going up to Syracuse Tuesday; he really likes it up there. We’ll see what happens, but he really likes Marrone and the coaching staff. I think that’s where he wants to go.”
Reportedly, he has already visited SU earlier in the process. Two trips to CNY can’t be a bad thing and may point to a decision on Syracuse soon. Emerich expects to make his choice in the next few weeks. It sounds like if today‚Äôs visit goes well, the Orange could beat out UConn, Temple, UCF, Buffalo, and Akron for Emerich‚Äôs commitment. While a two-star tackle isn‚Äôt the type of recruit that‚Äôs going to galvanize a fan base, those are the types of small recruiting victories that can add up and eventually contribute to a winning football program.
As The Fizz has written before, SU isn’t quite ready to compete for the nation’s elite. For now, the battles for kids like Emerich need to be slam dunks for Syracuse. An offensive lineman from a football hotbed in Pennsylvania with an offer from Big East rival Connecticut would be a solid pull for The Dougie.
Emerich has good size already at 275, with still another year of high school in front of him, and will certainly add to that before he steps on the field in college. He’s an aggressive blocker in the running game, and is solid in the passing game as well. In watching film of the tackle, his most impressive attribute is the way he finishes his blocks.
He earned second team AAA all-state honors in Pennsylvania his junior season, and anchored an O-Line that paved the way for over 230 rushing yards per game. While Emerich certainly isn’t the big fish Orange fans are waiting for, he would be a nice addition to this recruiting class for Syracuse, and today’s visit could push the Orange a few steps closer to a commitment.
Posted: Steve Neikam
