Syracuse Football has landed yet another recruit in the class of 2021. Kalan Ellis, an offensive lineman, has picked the Orange as his school of choice.
Ellis is a three-star recruit and the seventh best player in Hawaii according to 247Sports. He is from Honolulu, Hawaii and attended St. Louis School, which is the same high school as professional quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Ellis is a big (and when I say big, I mean bigggggggg) boy. He’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 350 pounds. That’s no scrub. He is heavier than any offensive lineman Syracuse has on its roster right now. To put in perspective, you could multiply Taj Harris by two and add 22 more pounds to equal Ellis, and Harris is only three inches shorter. So, yeah. Ellis is going to be a big dude on the interior of that Orange offensive line. 
Besides Syracuse, Ellis got scholarship offers from Hawaii (duh), San Diego State, UCLA, and Virginia. He also received interest from Nevada, Northwestern, Oregon, and Oregon State. It’s not the most expansive list, but there are some big name schools on there that Syracuse beat. That has to feel good for Dino Babers and O-line coach Mike Cavanaugh. The Orange have been losing a lot of recruits to other schools, which obviously happens, but this cycle specifically they have lost to some smaller, lesser teams. So to nab Ellis from the likes of UCLA and Virginia, it is a win.
Probably the most important aspect of this commitment is that Ellis comes in at the same time as Justin Lamson. Lamson, a dual-threat quarterback, committed to Syracuse a few weeks ago and is believed by many, including myself, to be the next starter after Tommy DeVito graduates. Why it’s important to have Ellis come in at the same time as Lamson is because it builds a stronger relationship between the two compared to if they were in separate years. That type of chemistry and trust goes a long way between quarterback and lineman.
Ellis is the third offensive line commit in the class of 2021 and joins Austyn Kauhi, also a Hawaii product, and Wes Hoeh. That is a strong offensive line class right there and if that is it for the O-line, you should consider it a great year. But, if Syracuse can get one more lineman, which four O-linemen a year is normal, it would be one of the strongest offensive line classes in recent Syracuse Football recruiting history.
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