Both Marquise Blair and Shy Cullen are expected to qualify academically according to Syracuse.com’s Stephen Bailey. While on the surface, we should hope it isn’t news when players do qualify, it comes as welcome news that it looks like all class of 2015 football recruits are good to come to Syracuse this summer if they are not there already. Remember, just last year, both KJ Williams and Treevon Prater failed to qualify academically.
Maybe the SU coaches were more selective in who they ultimately welcomed to the program this year, or maybe last year was just a bad year. Either way, it is a good sign for the Orange.
Now, I’m not going to say that players doing better in class will translate to a better product on the field, because we know that isn’t necessarily true. But being able to use all the players that are in your recruiting class is certainly an advantage, especially a player of Blair’s caliber.
Blair is someone that could potentially make an impact next season if he qualifies academically. While he likely wouldn’t start—especially right away as a true freshman—but with Durell Eskridge gone, the Orange could certainly use the help at safety. And last year, we saw as freshman Steve Ishmael and Zaire Franklin getting some solid playing time as the season progressed.
The Orange need to be able to have its full class of commits coming into the season because it is not unheard of for these freshman to make an impact. For that reason alone, Cullen and Blair qualifying academically is important for Coach Shafer and his squad.
Posted By: Seth Goldberg
