After a 2023 recruiting class that ranked dead last in the ACC and 84th in the country, Syracuse’s 2024 class took a blow. Syair Torrence, a three star receiver out of Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, has decommitted. Syair is the brother of Symir Torrence, who announced he is transferring to Binhgmaton to play his final season of college basketball.
Syair Torrence is listed as the fourth best player in New York and the 82nd best receiver in the country by 247Sports’ composite rankings. He also has offers from Michigan State, who he is scheduled to visit in June, Buffalo, Memphis and Rutgers.
In his announcement, Torrence cited a conversation with Dino Babers that led him to decommit. He did not mention Babers by name, saying only “the head coach.” There was no other reason given, and the specifics of that conversation are unknown.
Torrence was the first player from the class of 2024 to commit to SU when he announced he was staying home in November. It leaves the Orange with just three prospects in next year’s class, OL Noah Rosahac, LB Travon Dye and RB Trashon Dye, all of which are three stars.
On the surface, it’s a terrible look for Babers and company. The recruitment issues have been widely discussed, especially this year’s historically low ranking which put Syracuse behind schools like Rice, Southern Miss, Temple, Arkansas State and a host of other programs who simply shouldn’t be out-recruiting Syracuse.
If you can’t even keep a player from, quite literally, down the street, who are you supposed to be able to convince?
It’s important to note that we don’t have all of the information. We don’t know what Babers and Torrence discussed or the real reason why he decided to look elsewhere. Without that, it’s unfair to make a cut-and-dry judgment one way or another.
However, what’s undeniable is that the optics are awful. Step one of a successful program is keeping local talent at home. That’s the case whether you’re in a hot bed like Texas, or a part of the country that doesn’t produce a lot of high level talent like Syracuse is.
The fact that there aren’t that many recruits coming out of Central New York, or even all of New York State, means it’s that much more important to get them because you’re already working from a disadvantage. Missing out on the few hometown guys makes that disadvantage even bigger.
