The Fizz has well-documented the busy week that saw six more players commit to Syracuse for 2017. After weeks and weeks of the recruiting class staying still at three, the Class of 2017 has grown to ten and has steadily climbed the national rankings.
Before delving into the numbers it is important to keep everything in perspective. Syracuse is never (at least not in the foreseeable future) going to find itself with a top 10 recruiting class. It is highly unlikely that Syracuse ever even finds itself in the top 2 or 3 of the ACC as national powerhouses Florida State and Clemson have that covered. When evaluating a Syracuse recruiting class, it is important to compare it to previous SU classes and those of programs who are a similar, if not slightly higher, level than the Orange. With that said, let’s evaluate where Dino Babers and his recruiting class are at this point.
After the crazy week, Syracuse’s class now sits at 51 in the nation and 11 in the ACC. Hardly overwhelming but it does represent significant improvement over the last couple of¬†years. Last season, the Orange had the 63rd best class in the nation and second to worst in the ACC. In 2015, it was 58th nationally and 13th in conference. Of course, these numbers could greatly fluctuate in either direction between now and National Signing Day. None of the commits are locked into a decision yet and, in theory, some of Syracuse’s top recruits like Tommy DeVito and Josh Palmer could take their talents elsewhere.
On the flip side, Syracuse could add more highly touted recruits like C.J. Holmes and Russell Thompson-Bishop have Syracuse high on their lists.
In short Syracuse fans who were worried when the Class of 2017 was stuck at three can surely take a sigh of relief. When Syracuse hired Dino Babers, no one should have thought that he would turn this team into a huge success on the field immediately. All SU fans could ask for is to show improvement. He seems to be starting that improvement with his recruiting.
