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The saga of Boom Perkins is finally over, as the heralded running back from South Bend, Indiana has chosen to play for Ohio State. Orange Nation has been teased by Boom since the summer, but Syracuse had looked to be out of the mix over the last month. Interestingly, Perkins committed to the Buckeyes as a linebacker, even though he wanted to play running back and SU had offered him that chance.
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Boom’s dance with the Orange began in June, when the 4-star athlete¬†told The Fizz he was ready to commit to SU¬†because of his relationship with Tyrone Wheatley and a chance to run the ball.¬†Just weeks later he suddenly¬†committed to hometown Notre Dame. Buzz built almost immediately that Perkins’ decision on the Irish was shaky, and as expected he decommitted in the fall. SU fans had their hopes built up once again when¬†he called Syracuse coaches¬†promptly after his decommittment. But by last month it became painfully clear SU was not going to be a true player in the race, as the country’s powerhouse programs all joined the fray.
As recently as November, things looked good for SU. Perkins’ coach told The Fizz, his recruitment¬†was wide open, the ACC move could be a swing factor, and Syracuse was unofficially in his final 4. But with Oregon, LSU and Boise State as the other three schools, it seemed unlikely Boom would end up in Orange.
Predictably, Urban Meyer has been killing it on the recruiting trail. He built a champion at Florida by recruiting an insane amount of speed (and having Tim Tebow didn’t hurt). He‚Äôs repeating the process at Ohio State by collecting fast cars. Perkins ran a combine-verified 4.35 in the 40, which is fast enough for many NFL first-round picks. At 6‚Äô2‚Äù, 209 lbs. he’s big enough to have been an every down back for the Orange, and could have been the best playmaker SU had in years.
Perkins tweeted his decision:
@StudntOfDaGame: Good morning #BuckeyeNation
@StudntOfDaGame: Official #Buckeye
This was inevitable news for the the Orange, once Boom scratched Syracuse last month from his final 5. But it does sting knowing Perkins preferred to play running back, and instead decided to switch to defense for the Buckeyes.
Encouragingly, the Orange has had a strong final push toward Signing Day. Syracuse was able to reel in Georgia running back George Morris¬†in December to help add playmaking to the roster. Adding another Georgia product, DL Josh Manley, last week was enormous for the Orange as well. And SU is seemingly on the verge of picking up NYC’s best player, Wayne Morgan. Excitingly, Morris believes he can be the next great back to come out of SU – a lineage that dates back to the legendary Jim Brown. Welcome to New York, George. Boom? We hardly knew ya.
Posted: Craig Hoffman
