There‚Äôs been a lot of debate among Orange Nation about just how excited fans should be about Syracuse‚Äôs recent influx of commitments to the 2012 class. Just read through the comments section of The Fizz and you’ll see a huge swinging pendulum of how SU supporters feel about the recent tide of recruits.
Judging by numbers alone, The Dougie has done pretty well to secure 13 commitments through the beginning of July. However, as we all know, the Orange has missed on some of the top recruits it has targeted.
While Chad Kelly and David Perkins chose elsewhere, DeVante McFarlane, James Washington, Ben Lewis, Jason Emerich and a host of others have all gone Orange.
So, is the glass half empty or half full?
Following a bowl victory last season, the Orange is past the point where we need to throw a parade after signing a three-star recruit. But being only two seasons removed from the Groobers Error, SU is not quite to point where we can expect it to sign nationally touted recruits.
As The Fizz wrote recently, its unfair to judge Syracuse by whether they can out-recruit programs like Alabama and Notre Dame. It can’t. To fairly judge how Syracuse is doing in recruiting, we have to compare them against the competition they’ll face on the field: the rest of the Big East.
When looking through that lens, SU’s ability to land good talent but not elite recruits is the league norm. To this point, no five-star recruits have committed to any Big East schools, and according to ESPNU’s star rankings, only seven total four stars have chosen Big East schools. While we all agree scouting services do not always accurately reflect talent, Syracuse has succeeded where some of its closest competition has failed.
Rutgers has three 4-star recruits, but only eight commitments total. Syracuse right now stands with Cincinnati at the front of the Big East. In the last few weeks, the Orange has gotten commitments from a Maryland wideout, a Pennsylvania lineman, a Florida defensive end, and a Long Island running back. The Dougie has continued his success bringing in New York talent, as well as scoring some victories in key pipeline states.
This is where Syracuse football stands heading into year three of the Marrone Program: Safely out of the basement (although some of GRob’s belongings might still be down there), but not quite the penthouse. While this class might not have a star, from this vantage point Marrone’s glass looks half full.
Posted: Steve Neikam
