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Since Scott Shafer took over as head Syracuse football coach in January 2013, he and his staff have made serious gains in recruiting. The 2014 class (which arrived on campus for minicamp yesterday) and the work-in-progress 2015 class both have players fans should be excited about. Like every program however, SU has had its fair share of recruiting ups and downs over the last year and a half. Shafer and company have learned from these experiences and as a result have gotten off to a solid start recruiting 2016 athletes.
Two 2016 4-star recruits have already visited campus this summer. They are 6‚Äô0″, 205-pound Connecticut linebacker¬†Koby Quansah¬†(who attended an SU camp) and 6‚Äô5‚Äô‚Äô 255 pound New Jersey offensive lineman Liam Smith. This is fantastic news for a school that has not landed many 4-star players recently. The last 4-star recruit to visit SU‚Äôs campus was 2014 wide receiver¬†KJ Williams,¬†who did not qualify academically and has reopened his commitment.
When defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough went to the Kingsford Oxford School in Connecticut and invited Quansah to camp, the linebacker had no rating by any of the major recruiting sites. Now he is ranked nationally on Rivals and has a very solid relationship with SU’s coaches.
Syracuse was in a similar situation with 4-star Florida cornerback Davante Davis earlier this summer. Davis hastily committed to Syracuse before visiting the school. Other schools and recruiting sites eventually caught wind of his ability and Davis ultimately opened up his commitment after receiving multiple SEC and Big 10 offers. He is now a long shot to re-commit. SU has forged a solid relationship with Quansah early and will hopefully still be a contender when the big boys offer because of his successful camp visit.
Smith’s visit is important to SU for the same reason: building relationships. A player may be interested in Syracuse, but if he is being heavily recruited elsewhere, he needs to visit to meet the coaches and to see if the program is really a fit.
A 4-star commit who will actually get on the field is not far away for Syracuse.
Posted by: Connor Morrissette
