Could Syracuse really land Stacy Coley? Apparently, it’s not just a pipe dream for one of the best did receivers in the country to be wearing Orange this fall. Coley is deciding between Louisville and SU as his final official visit before February’s National Signing Day.
The four-star prospect is ranked the 8th best wideout in the country by Scout. In the ESPN 150, he rates as the 4th best receiver in ’13. And new offensive coordinator George McDonald could end up pulling off major dividends before he ever rolls out his first game plan.
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Coley hails from Oakland Park, Florida and McDonald’s Sunshine State ties run deep. The 6’1″, 175 lb. game breaker has offers from the biggest football powers in the country. Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Georgia, Louisville, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Oregon and Notre Dame have all extended scholarships to Coley.
So how does the Orange compete with the most impressive names in college football? The McDonald factor. Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweeted Friday:
“Oakland Park Northeast coach Donnell Bennett says four-star WR Stacy Coley is visiting USF this weekend. In mix w/ FSU, Miami, Lville, Cuse.”
McDonald was named Miami’s wide receivers coach a little over a year ago, but he’s been knocking on doors and developing relationships in South Florida for years. Oakland Park sits just north of Ft. Lauderdale, and it would be a major coup for SU to swoop in and land a player of Coley’s caliber from the Florida schools.
When McDonald left for the Arkansas job last month, Coley told the Orlando Sentinal:
‚ÄúIt‚Äôs getting crazy now that McDonald left and he was my position coach. It‚Äôs getting crazy. Now I really, really have to look into Miami.¬†[Coach MacDonald] is a good coach and he communicated a lot with me. He just stayed in touch throughout everything and now he’s left. He‚Äôs a great dude.
‚ÄúCoach TRich … he‚Äôs just trying to communicate heavy now ever since coach McDonald left. He‚Äôs just trying to play the role of getting me to Miami telling me the stuff that everybody else said. It leaves me stuck right now. Ever since Coach McDonald left, he was doing all the recruiting and now that he‚Äôs leaving my own backyard, it‚Äôs going to be kind of hard.‚Äù
Where will it end up landing Coley? It’s hard to imagine Syracuse winning such an intense recruiting battle over some of the nation’s college football powers. But there’s other names in the mix that the new staff has brought to SU’s table, even if Coley’s not one of them. Syracuse has added a wideout in Corey Winfield over the last week, so it looks like the new staff is already revamping the outside skill positions inside the Dome. If SU can get Coley to the Hill, however, it’ll officially be the dawn of a new era at Syracuse.
Posted: D.A.
