Florida LT Shawn Curtis Tells Fizz He’ll Take Official to SU, ACC a Factor

D.A. | Aug 09, 2012 | Comments 49

SB Nation

As Syracuse football continues to mine the south for talent, one name that’s popped up on its radar is Shawn Curtis. He’s a three-star offensive tackle from Orlando, Florida.

With SU now heading to the ACC next summer, Curtis tells The Fizz the conference switch will play a major role in his college choice.

“It actually factors in a lot. Because I’ll get to play a lot of the games closer to home, and my parents will come out to see those games. So it’s definitely a big plus.”

The ACC is one of the biggest things the Orange is selling to southern recruits. When asked about Syracuse’s main message to him, Curtis immediately pointed to the conference change.

“They’ve been really emphasizing how they’re moving to the ACC.”

The Big East offers the chance to play in Orlando against UCF, and just down the road against USF. But the ACC schedule also brings SU down to the Sunshine State for higher profile games against Florida State and Miami. Does the Olympia High School left tackle have legit interest in the Orange? As of right now, it appears he absolutely does.

Rivals indicates a top five of Iowa State, Mississippi State, Syracuse, South Florida, and North Carolina State, but Curtis says he hasn’t pinpointed a top set of schools yet. But Curtis may narrow down his list as soon as next week. He currently stands at 17 scholarship offers.

The signs point to SU’s inclusion on Shawn’s shortened list. Every student athlete gets five official visits, and the lineman says two of his officials will be campus visits to Syracuse and Iowa State. The other three are still up in the air.

The visits could prove to be the most important aspect of Curtis’s recruitment. He says there’s a good chance he’ll end up committing to whichever school he chooses during one of his campus visits. He would like to make a decision by midway through his senior football season.

Curtis has yet to plan when he’ll make those visits. He’ll make a decision with Syracuse Recruiting Coordinator Greg Adkins on when he plans a trip to Central New York. Adkins, also the Offensive Line Coach for the Orange, has been Curtis’s primary recruiter.

“I think [Syracuse stays] on me pretty well. I talk to Coach Adkins probably every two weeks or so. We talk for awhile.”

Talking about his game, Curtis says he has quick footwork, is explosive off the ball, and plays very aggressively. The tackle says the thing he needs to work on the most is getting bigger and stronger. At 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, he’s pretty much at the standard size for a tackle entering college that needs to add some weight.

Odds and Ends

He would like to play early in his career, but expects to take a redshirt year.
Schools that have been dialing Shawn’s cell phone the most: Syracuse, Duke, and North Carolina.
Beyond the 17 offers he already has, Curtis is not waiting for any specific school to come in with a late offer.

Posted: Andrew Kanell