Three months ago defensive end Keivonnis Davis committed to Syracuse, safety Jay Stocker made plans to officially visit the Hill and linebacker Anthony McKee was high on the Orange’s wish list. All three players committed to play college football this week and none of them picked Syracuse.
            Even when Davis was committed to SU he said that he still planned to keep looking at other schools. He’s a Florida kid who was mainly recruited by George McDonald. When Syracuse’s former offensive coordinator left the Hill to join NC State there was always a strong possibility that Davis would leave as well.
The defensive end committed to Oregon State Wednesday and said fellow Miami native and OSU running backs coach Telly Lockette was a big reason why. Davis’ flip does not set the Orange back too far though; SU still has four defensive ends in its 2015 class.
Losing Stocker to Pitt hurts a little more however. The 3-star Pennsylvania safety took an official visit to only two schools: SU in December and Pitt last weekend. Unfortunately for Scott Shafer, the Panthers won out.
Safety is a position of need for the Orange. Syracuse returns just two defensive backs that have played significant minutes in their careers: senior cornerbacks Wayne Morgan and Julian Whigham. To make matters worse, junior Chauncey Scissum and sophomore Rodney Williams are the only upperclassmen safeties on Syracuse’s roster next season. In the 2015 class, SU has commitments from safeties Marquise Blair and Christopher Frederick bringing the Orange’s total safety count to four. It’s not all bad news however:  Scout.com bumped Blair up to a 4-star commit earlier this week.
Finally, McKee chose Pitt over Syracuse as well. The Ohio linebacker was always a long shot for the Orange but in the summer he did say Syracuse was in his top 5-7 schools. This should have at least warranted a visit. Similarly to Davis’ situation, linebacker is not a position of need in the 2015 class so missing out on McKee is not a major issue.
Remember to follow @Orangefizz on twitter for information and updates on SU football and basketball recruiting.
Posted:  Connor Morrissette
