Syracuse Football added its first 2023 commitment since Halloween recently when Vincent Caroll-Jackson made his verbal pledge. Caroll-Jackson is a three-star defensive lineman from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The high school senior stands 6’5, 285 pounds and is the second highest-rated recruit in SU’s 2023 group.
Carroll-Jackson is a top 700 recruit nationally, and a top 100 DL prospect and owns an 87.50 grade from 247sports. The Central Dauphin East High School product claims eleven offers. The PA product picked Syracuse over Georgia, Florida, and Pittsburgh amongst others.
After reviewing his film, here’s what you need to know about SU’s latest commit:
This Dude is Big!
VCJ, we’ll call him, is a behemoth. The defensive lineman just looks twice the size of everybody else in this first clip. Syracuse is aching for this kind of size and beef in its defensive trenches. On this play, Carroll-Jackson’s first step is lightning quick. The senior just simply beats the left guard with his size and speed for an easy tackle-for-loss. This is a very promising sight because the big guy’s athleticism is on full display.
He’s a People Mover!
It’s unknown whether VCJ will play offensive or defensive line. Either way, if he can do things like this on either side of the ball then Syracuse will be alright. The Pennsylvania native tosses a defensive lineman and showcases his brute force with power. That’s some aggressiveness and strength SU is lacking on both sides of the ball.
He Can Win the Inside!
This should have you excited! Look at the way VCJ wins the inside to clog up some holes and shut down this run play. This is textbook run defense and gap control and something the Orange faltered in at points this season. Kevon Darton was really the only guy that consistently won 1-on-1 against d-linemen in getting across their face.
Weight Room!
VCJ is a dawg! This guy could become an All-ACC player early in his Syracuse career. Carroll-Jackson reminds us a lot of Pitt’s Elijah Kancey who just took home a lot of conference honors. The Panthers d-lineman is extremely disruptive and his combination of size and speed has a lot to do with that.
The Orange are getting a player in VCJ here with excellent upside along the defensive front. The Pennsylvania native’s floor is already really high. From the looks of this film, the 2023 recruit could make an early impact on the Hill.
