Syracuse football’s quarterback situation is far from the first order of business in making the Orange a contender again. Eric Dungey has proven himself as a worthy QB in Dino Babers’ system, and underclassmen Tommy DeVito and Rex Culpepper wait in the wings to take over when Dungey’s career ends. However, the Orange still doesn’t have a quarterback signed in the 2018 recruiting class. Most schools try to get at least one signal caller every year, but SU missed out on a pair of players it was going after when both Chance Amie and Ben Bryant passed on Syracuse this week.
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— Ben Bryant (@benbryant_7) June 27, 2017
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— Chance Amie üñ§ (@chanceamie2018) June 26, 2017
These two, and Amie especially, were high-priority targets for the Orange. Babers probably didn’t want to have to deal with finding a quarterback late in the recruiting cycle, but now the Orange only has offers out to five quarterbacks (according to 247Sports.com) who haven’t already committed. If he doesn’t get one of these players to choose SU, the Orange could be in trouble.
Justin Fields — Kennesaw, Ga.
Fields is the second-highest rated quarterback and No. 3 overall recruit in the 2018 class. He is a five-star player and has offers from every school he could want to go to, including Syracuse. There is no reason to think Fields will come to SU and no evidence to back up the idea. He’s too good. Moving on…
Kevin Doyle — Washington, DC
Doyle is someone SU has had on the radar for a while. Babers offered the three-star recruit in May 2016, and at the time he only had six offers (Orange Fizz interviewed Kevin when he got his SU offer). That number is now up to 20, including the ACC’s Boston College and Pitt. He goes to school at Malvern Prep in Pennsylvania, which is the same high school Ryan Nassib went to. There is no timeline for a decision from Doyle, and he hasn’t given up much as to where he might be leaning.
Carter Bradley — Jacksonville, Fla.
Syracuse has had success recruiting in Florida, and Babers was hoping that trend would continue when he offered Bradley earlier this month. A three-star recruit, Bradley has offers from Louisville, Wisconsin, Pitt, Indiana, Temple and other smaller schools. Every school in the country knows Florida is a hotbed for football talent, and schools such as LSU and Florida have been keeping tabs on Bradley throughout the summer. The competition for him now is tough, but it could be getting much tougher soon.
Will Levis — Middletown, Conn.
Like Bradley, Levis was just offered by Syracuse this month in Babers’ latest efforts to find a 2018 commit under center. He is a three-star recruit ranked lower than Bradley and Doyle, but probably has the most impressive offer sheet of the three. Florida State, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Western Michigan and more have already offered Levis, who visited SU less than two weeks ago. His rating has been consistently rising since May, and the Orange is already behind in his recruitment. The chances of getting him are slim.
Steven Krajewski – Moultrie, Ga.
Krajewski is the least sought-after quarterback Syracuse has offered. He only has four offers (from SU, Connecticut, Mercer and Georgia State). He’s probably the best shot of the four to land at Syracuse, but the recent offers to Levis and Bradley would suggest that Babers would be happier finding someone else.
None of these players have hinted to where or when they’ll commit, but Dino Babers knows time is running out. With players like Bradley and Levis, Syracuse is trying to build a relationship with someone who has already known a number of other schools for over a year. It isn’t impossible to steal a recruit away (see: Jordan Tucker), but it’s much harder to do. The longer SU waits, the harder it gets.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
