As if the Syracuse defense wasn’t struggling enough, the Orange lost its second freshman in two days as incoming linebacker Adam Giordano decided to leave the program.
On the heels of top recruit Marquise Blair being named ineligible by the NCAA, the late addition Giordano decided he would not attend SU.  A multi-sport athlete, Giordano was spotted in practice and signed on with the Orange last month after SU’s defense coordinator Chuck Bullough thought he found a diamond in the rough.  Expecting Blair not to qualify, he was supposed to be the 25th prospect in the class of 2015 that has already arrived on the hill.
Despite playing wide receiver in high school, Giordano was expected to play strong-side linebacker in the upcoming year.  The depth at linebacker is sorely needed, as the Syracuse defense is going to be a certain weak spot this year.  Instead, the linebacker core will be made up of just sophomores Parris Bennett, and Jonathan Thomas, as well as sophomore Zaire Franklin, junior Marquez Hodge and freshman Troy Henderson.
The coaching staff and the university are yet to release any details about why Giordano will not be attending Syracuse in the fall.  As a late addition, one could argue that he was never fully engulfed in the recruiting class and was rushed into his role on the team.  Maybe he wasn’t comfortable playing linebacker, or maybe he didn’t think he could compete with some of the Orange’s better interior defenders.  Perhaps the coaching staff was unconvinced with what they saw from the 6-foot-4, 205-pound wide-receiver-turned-linebacker.  Maybe he couldn’t make the transition that they were hoping he could.  The best guess is that Giordano didn’t want to play football.  A two-sport athlete in high school, he released a lacrosse highlight tape last week.
While this means that the Orange could once again try and add a player late, it is much more likely that they will save the scholarship for the class of 2016, which is filling up rapidly.¬† With the level of talent that has already verbally committed, it’s much more likely that the coaching staff will find a more talented player for 2016 than one uncommitted for the fall.
