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Three Biggest Takeaways From Syracuse’s Class of 2019

The closing bell has rung on the second college football signing period and it ended with the Orange tacking on another four commits. Dino Babers’ class currently sits at 52nd in the country and 10th in the ACC, per 247Sports.

While those rankings may not sound like they match up for a team that ended ranked 15th in the country, Dino Babers has stressed that the back end of the class is what correlates to the team that was in the Top 25. The end of the cycle was certainly stronger than the beginning. Now that this Class of 2019 is mostly said and done, three things stand out.

Skilled LBs

Over the past couple of seasons, Syracuse’s linebackers have stood out defensively. Even this year when they were being written off, it ended with Ryan Guthrie as an All-ACC linebacker and Kielan Whitner well exceeding expectations. Now, the Orange needs to retool at the position with both of those guys graduating. So what did Babers do? He brought in a talented duo that he can hope evolves into the next Zaire Franklin and Parris Bennett combination. Mikel Jones and Lee Kpogba’s ratings vary from site to site. But both have been tagged as four star guys by at least one site. There may be freshman moments next season, but the potential for this core is very high. Even though the Orange is viewed nationally as an “offense-first” team, the defense was no slouch next year. Jones and Kpogba look to continue that tradition in a very defense-oriented class.

Got a QB

After Chance Amie decommitted, the Orange was scrambling for a backup quarterback. It’s always good to pick up one quarterback per class, and Syracuse got one to commit in the late period. Three-star recruit David Summers, who was initially committed to Maryland, flipped to SU officially on Wednesday’s signing day. The Connecticut product may have seen the writing on the wall with the Terrapins in the running, and ultimately successfully landed, four star QB Lance LeGendre. Summers ultimately preferred to wait it out behind a 4-star quarterback that is entering his redshirt sophomore season than one in his own class. It was imperative that the Orange added a QB and bringing in Summers fills that void for the foreseeable future.

No York, No York

Dino Babers vowed to recruit in-state. But in the 2019 class, not a single player is from New York. Now it’s not for a lack of trying. SU was in the final running for top 100 prospect and Brooklyn native Adisa Isaac. Ultimately, the pursuit fell short. But the northeast in general wasn’t heavily targeted. The Orange totaled just seven of their 20 commits from the region. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing since most football talent is populated down south. But winning the one or two elite players in your state is important. Syracuse is by far and away the premier program in the state. They must show under Babers that they can continue to pick up the best in the area.

The Fizz is owned, edited and operated by Damon Amendolara. D.A. is an ’01 Syracuse graduate from the Newhouse School with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

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