While Ishaq Williams has been the focus of our I-Team investigation over the last few weeks, one of his fiercest rivals could be thinking Syracuse as well.
Brandon Reddish tore it up in his senior campaign, and his Fort Hamilton High team beat Williams’ Lincoln squad in NYC’s PSAL championships. Reddish won MVP honors.
Reddish has been a target of The Fizz since September, but the message board chatter is heating up.¬†Many believe it’s possible that Reddish and Williams end up at the same college.
The two took their official visit to Syracuse on the same weekend in December, along with prized defensive end Kevin McReynolds. Their schools have been on-field rivals as long as they have both been playing.
There are other signs that the two have a connection. Remember SU recruit and FizzCast subject Tyree Smallwood, who spoke to us back in July?
Well, that cog in the class of 2011 says the vibe was good between all the guys.
“I also met some of the other recruits like Ishaq Williams, Kevin McReynolds, Donnie Simmons, Shutang Mungwa and Brandon Reddish and they were all cool.”
Of that group, Williams has SU in his top 2, McReynolds lists the Orange in Fave-Five, Simmons has commited, and Reddish is in the hunt. Mungwa is the only defector in an “off-the-top-of-the-head list” by Smallwood.
This is no coincidence. Doug Marrone orchestrated all these elite players to be together during their recruiting visits. It’s paying dividends. This group of SU recruits could represent an enormous wave of talent to the program.
Reddish has UConn, Maryland, and Penn State on his list (while I reported Williams had dropped the Nittany Lions last week).
Is there a link between the two? The Fizz thinks so. Does it extend to where these two will play ball for the next four years? That remains to be seen.
It needs to be noted that regardless of what Reddish or Williams decides, the ‘Cuse is officially “there.” All you have to do is look at how competitive SU is with big-time recruits, late in the process. It’s only a matter of time before this isn’t a novelty anymore.
Posted: Ted Conroy.
