Yesterday, Syracuse football got a pair of commitments from running backs, one from the 2017 class and the other a 2018 three-star.
New York native Luke Erickson will join the Orange this fall as a preferred walk-on.
Can't wait for this Fall! pic.twitter.com/VBYOuXMdMK
— Luke Erickson (@luke_eickson21) May 16, 2017
He’s the second (and in all likelihood last) running back in the 2017 recruiting cycle for the Orange, joining Florida three-star Markenzy Pierre.¬† He is a power back, which is what Dino Babers has almost exclusively recruited at the position since arriving on the hill. Erickson’s Hudl page claims he benches 315 lbs. and squats 500 with a 40-time of 4.7. Since Hudl stats are by no means verified, you have to take those with a grain of salt, but they’re still head-turning numbers.
You can see Erickson’s strength in his senior highlights. He’s only listed at six feet tall, but on some plays just looks bigger than everyone else on the field. He can juke by one defender and run over another. Erickson told Syracuse.com’s Stephen Bailey he had been recruited by Georgetown, Colgate and Pennsylvania before he tore his ACL in the last game of his senior season (a year in which he ran for 811 yards and 11 touchdowns), but he isn’t listed on any of the major recruiting sites. He was named to the Class D All-State team after his junior season of 1,318 yards rushing with 15 touchdowns.
The other back to commit to Cuse yesterday was the class of 2018’s Akeem Dixon, another power back out of Florida. The Orange had to work for this one, beating out ACC contender Louisville and Big Ten laughing stock Purdue for the three-star back. The Orange even managed to pull a Jordan Tucker (and yes, that’s what we should call it from now on) on Dino Babers’ Bowling Green, who had offered Dixon more than a year ago.
Dixon is listed at 6-0, 210 pounds. 247Sports has him listed as the No. 87 running back in the 2018 class, and he’s the first back to commit to the Orange this cycle. He ran for 877 yards and scored nine touchdowns last season, averaging over nine yards per carry. Dixon may be considered a power back, bu he brings speed to the table as well. At Vero Beach High School in Florida, he ran a 11.13 100-meter dash for the track and field team. Dixon is the seventh commit of the 2018 class for Syracuse, which is off to a good start (No. 33 nationally and No. 7 in the ACC). If Babers can keep this up, Orange fans will start seeing the program turn around sooner rather than later.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
