If the last seven days of the Syracuse recruiting are any indication of the future of the football program, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
The Orange have had the kind of week that makes you want to eat ice cream straight out of the carton while watching reruns of “Friends”, having lost players in almost every way possible since this time last Wednesday.
For starters, today marks the one-week anniversary of Keivonnis Davis flipping his verbal from Syracuse to Oregon State (hold the confetti and balloon drop). Davis had committed to the Orange three months ago, but the departure of Syracuse’s offensive coordinator George McDonald complicated things. Davis was planning on visiting Oregon State on Saturday, but the defensive lineman didn’t need any more convincing as he flipped to the Beavers before even arriving in the Pacific Northwest.
Five days after losing Davis, the Orange failed to reel in one of their highest remaining targets in Najee Clayton. As if Mondays weren’t bad enough, the safety/wide receiver out of New Jersey announced that morning that he would stay close to home and attend Rutgers. Clayton’s choice only emphasized the recurring theme of Syracuse being out-recruited to teams like Rutgers and Penn State in the Garden State.
Later that day, the Orange were expecting to hear from Steven Clark, the defensive lineman who committed to Syracuse in December but is now having second thoughts. After visiting Florida and weighing his options, Clark came to the decision that he was not ready to make a decision. There is no set date for when a choice will be made.
As bad as last week was for Syracuse, this week could make up for much of what was lost. The Orange are still looking closely at Wisconsin commit Jake Pickard, and Clark may still end up putting on the Orange hat (again). A lot of questions will have to be answered before National Signing Day next Wednesday, but it doesn’t look like things could get much worse from here.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
