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In the end, there wasn’t much Syracuse could do to prevent four-star South Bend recruit David “Boom” Perkins from choosing Notre Dame. That’s what we learned in the latest Fresh FizzCast, when Scout.com Recruiting Analyst Allen Trieu and Irish Illustrated.com Editor Pete Samspon joined the program to analyze Boom’s decision.
- Listen to the Fresh FizzCast: How SU Lost Boom Perkins
Trieu, who attended the announcement in South Bend, says Perkins was extremely close to committing to Syracuse, before location got in the way.
“The only thing that had kept him from [committing to SU] was actually getting to meet some of the coaching staff in person. I know he wanted to commit to the head coach in person and Syracuse being as far away as it is from South Bend, he couldn’t get out there.”
Trieu reinforced just how close Syracuse was to landing Perkins. Boom explicitly told him that if he had made it up to the Salt City prior to Notre Dame’s offer, he would have chosen Orange. But when his family found itself unable to make the trek, Perkins reevaluated how challenging it would be to go to school so far away from South Bend.
“The fact that they weren’t even able to get out to Syracuse for a visit sort of magnified that distance from home.”
Syracuse offered the best family atmosphere. The SU coaching staff, specifically Tyrone Wheatley, had the closest relationship with Perkins. And unlike the Irish, the Orange recruited Boom to play his true position of preference, running back.
But none of that could change the fact that Perkins lives in South Bend, or that his coach at Washington High School, Antwon Jones, is a proud Irish alum. Boom’s natural connection to Notre Dame is just too strong.
As Sampson mentions, the irritating thing for ‘Cuse fans is that Perkins, like so many others, passed up on an easy chance to be a star so that he can be a small fish in a big pond.
“He’s another guy. He’s not going to be the best guy Notre Dame signs in this class, he’s probably not going to be the best guy Notre Dame signs in this class at that position. When Notre Dame made the offer, there was a lot of talk on our message board on Irish Illustrated about whether Brian Kelly had made a big mistake. ‘Is this a kid that Notre Dame can win a National Title with?’ There was a lot of uncertainty there; [the fans] didn’t think he was a good fit. I’m sure there was none of that in the Syracuse fanbase.”
No matter which college he winds up picking, fans of that school will likely appreciate the value of Buffalo quarterback recruit Chad Kelly. When Kelly visited SU about a week ago, he spoke with The Fizz and praised Syracuse football and the coaches. Hoffman says that based on the way Kelly’s campus visit went, the landscape for his recruitment is different than he thought it would be.
“If he were to narrow his top schools down from seven to three, I thought that Syracuse was out. I thought that it was going to be Clemson, FSU, and Alabama. But after what he said about Syracuse last week, I think Syracuse has a chance.”
So even after the failure to get Perkins, things are looking up at the moment for SU. The ‘Cuse appears to be firmly in the race for Kelly, three-star Georgia tight end Joshua Parris delivered a verbal commitment to the Orange on Friday after de-commiting from South Florida, and it’s looking less likely Rochester four-star Jarron Jones will attend Penn State. Jones has given the Nittany Lions a soft verbal commitment, but recently Syracuse jumped back into the hunt.
Posted: Andrew Kanell
