Doug Marrone is enjoying more Sunshine State talent and the ripe taste of to-be Florida Oranges. Syracuse notches its fifth verbal commitment for the Class of 2013, and its second recruit from the state of Florida, in linebacker Marqez Hodge. The Miami Central product had gotten offers from schools such as Marshall, Minnesota, and Western Kentucky.
The 6‚Äô1″, 210 lb. Hodge recorded 50 tackles overall, a sack, and a forced fumble in his junior season. While¬†quarterbacks have received all the attention, he joins¬†DT Wayne Williams on the defensive end¬†and¬†fellow Floridian TE Tyler Provo¬†as part of the 2013 commitment class.
Hodge brings winning experience from high school. Miami Central had won 27 straight games until losing in the 6A State Championship to Armood last year. Current SU products from Miami Central include safety safety Durell Eskridge and linebacker Oliver Vigille.
Another defensive player Marrone is targeting is be Seattle Prep RB/CB Tere Calloway, who received an offer from SU on Wednesday. Calloway has gotten 13 total offers including Colorado, Memphis, Nevada, Purdue, San Diego State, SMU, Southern Miss, and Wyoming. He has gotten interest from big dogs such as Boise State and Texas Tech.
Tere shared his enthusiasm with The Fizz after hearing from the Orange:
“I’m pretty excited about the offer, and I’ve been talking to Coach Wheatley for a while about it.”       
    
The 5‚Äô11″ 185 lb. Calloway not only poses a threat to QBs by breaking up passes, but he can also run the ball effectively. Tyrone Wheatley is at it again recruiting high-end running talent. Wheat The Beast has been also going hard after¬†Ohio WR Mykel Traylor-Bennett.
Calloway ran for 1179 yards and 20 TDs in his junior season, averaging slightly over an amazing 10 yards per carry. When playing RB, he plays fearlessly:
 “At running back, every time I get the ball, I am looking to score, but I also run between the tackles. I am not the biggest running back, but I’m the slashing-type running back.”
Rated 3 stars by both Scout and Rivals, Calloway displays great versatility. With a 4.45 in the 40 he will have no problem catching WRs in the secondary. As a running back, he likes to run between the tackles, but can be most effective with his legs on the outside. Marrone has continually looked to find speed down in Florida, and playmaking abilities.
At corner back he recorded 92 total tackles, 10 pass deflections, and 2 forced fumbles. Calloway says he has no preference in terms of what position he plays at the college level:
“I have different things that I like about positions. I like being an island and shutting down a wide receiver at corner back. Of course I want to score touchdowns, so there’s a lot of things that interest me at each position.”
Calloway provides some great options to the offensive and defensive playbooks. Despite being from Seattle, Calloway has plans to make a trip to the East Coast and has a positive attitude about SU:
“I’ve heard a lot about their program. I have a mentor who lives in Rochester and he’s told me a lot about Syracuse. I actually plan on unofficially visiting sometime this summer. It’s just a great school with rich history and it’s something I really like.”
With Hodge on board with a verbal commitment, and Calloway looking deeply into the program, Syracuse continues to make waves this summer.
Posted: Brendan Glasheen
