Penn Live
Look at this. Doug Marrone and the Syracuse Orange were not going to sleep until they landed a highly regarded quarterback prospect. And Sunday night, Austin Wilson of East Pennsboro, PA committed to SU.
“I was up there Friday, and I just knew. The whole day I was up there I was quietly looking around at everything. I loved the campus. On the trip home I was talking with my family and they also had a good feeling about it. I knew that night I was going to commit.”
This makes the offers to both DeShone Kizer and A.J. Long very interesting. Kizer and Long are both a year younger than Wilson, who will be a senior in the fall. Kizer already has elite size and natural gifts, and will soon be sifting through offers from some of the biggest programs. Long has a scholarship from UCLA as well as Syracuse, and the hunt for him expects to heat up this fall as well.
But Wilson liked that he would take priority in this class.
“And they made it clear I was their No. 1 guy. That was important to me. I didn’t want to be some back-up recruit.”
Wonder what this means for SU’s interest in Connecticut standout Tim Boyle who is considering the Orange, Pitt, UConn and Florida. Interestingly, Wilson also said that he contacted the Orange first. The coaching staff admitted it had never heard of Wilson, but then watched his tape and became very interested. The only other offer Wilson had was from Eastern Michigan.
So SU kills two birds with one stone. The program adds a big (6’3″ 205 lbs.) talented QB recruit who has great arm strength and accuracy on the long ball. He can step in and compete for the starter’s role next year with Broyld, Kinder and co.¬†It also allows the Orange to stay hot on Long and Kizer for the next class. And Wilson’s verbal is non-binding. If SU can land Boyle, then Wilson may decide he’d rather sign elsewhere.¬†
Looks like a good deal all around for Marrone, as the Orange continue to make this spring very interesting.
Posted: D.A.
