11 players have committed to Syracuse football’s 2018 recruiting class. In it are three offensive linemen, three wide receivers and multiple running backs, but not a single defensive lineman. Dino Babers has been trying to change that, and extended offers to a pair of quarterback chasers earlier this week.
Early Tuesday, tackle Deporess Schletty announced via Twitter his offer from the Orange:
Blessed to receive an offer from Syracuse University!! #OITNF pic.twitter.com/ZA6NSq6k3Q
— Deporess Schletty (@deporess15) August 1, 2017
The glaring problem with Schletty is his commitment to another school. He pledged allegiance to Western Kentucky less than a week ago, but that didn’t stop the Dino Babers from throwing Syracuse’s name into the hat. Before his commitment, Schletty’s only other Power Five commitment was from ACC rival Pitt. Getting into the ear of a player who is less than a week removed from a commitment is bold, but the Orange can offer ACC football over Conference USA. It’s a decent upgrade.
Schletty is listed as a three-star recruit on 247Sports, measuring at 6-2 and 275 pounds. He uses his strength to get by offensive linemen at Georgia’s Alphretta High School, and his block-shedding abilities are relatively unproven simply because he runs over people so often. He’s strong, with an unofficial bench of 315 on his Hudl page.
Later on Tuesday, a defensive end announced he had an offer from the Orange:
Blessed to have received my 15th offer from Syracuse University üôèüèøüôèüèø#GoOrangeüçä pic.twitter.com/cuGtraCYEQ
— KingAzur (@azur_kamara) July 27, 2017
Azur Kamara isn’t committed to a school yet, and that’s always a plus. He’s a JUCO player who will spend his final year at Arizona Western College this fall. Kamara is also listed as a three-star recruit, and is the No. 44 JUCO player in the 2018 class. He has offers from a much more impressive list of schools than Schletty, with Louisville, Iowa State, Florida State, Ole Miss and more joining the Orange in his recruitment.
Kamara isn’t one of those small, quick defensive ends who will use agility to blow past a tackle. He’s 6-6 and 230 pounds, which is a big reason why he’s getting so much attention from huge programs. Kamara made 45 tackles with Arizona Western last season, which was good enough for second-best among defensive ends on the team. He made 13.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He also forced two fumbles and recovered four. The numbers are there, and programs across the country are taking notice.
Syracuse needs to beef up its defensive line in 2018 to secure the improvement of the defense in the years to come. Scott Shafer’s last class/Babers’ first were line-heavy, but it won’t be long before those players are spent.
