Syracuse has gotten a commitment from a quarterback in the class of 2024. Brandon Zurbrugg, an unranked prospect from Ohio has said he plans to attend Syracuse starting next year.
Zurbrugg is 6’3 180 pounds and doesn’t have a star attached to his ranking, according to 247Sports. He’s from Alliance, Ohio and attends Alliance High School. He’s the first quarterback in Syracuse’s class of 2024.
Syracuse’s quarterback room, both in the present and the near future, looked like a major strength just a couple of months ago, but now there are plenty of questions. Garrett Shrader is the unquestioned starter this year, but is out of eligibility after 2023.
Behind him, Carlos Del Rio-Wilson completed less than half of his passes last year. He has plenty of talent, especially with his arm. He was a former top 100 recruit in the class of 2021 and spent a year at Florida. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
Braden Davis is in a similar position. He was another former four star prospect who spent last year at South Carolina and transferred to SU this offseason after not playing for the Gamecocks last year. He, like Del Rio-Wilson, has plenty of natural talent, but it’s unproven at the collegiate level.
The reason Davis is with the Orange is because of Justin Lamson’s transfer to Stanford. He was slate to be the backup last year, but got hurt at the end of spring ball. That led to Dino Babers and company dipping into the portal to grab Del Rio-Wilson. Then, Lamson transferring led to Davis being lured as well.
Then, there was LaNorris Sellers, a four star prospect who skyrocketed up recruiting rankings during his senior year last fall. He was poached by South Carolina just before signing day, a big blow to new offensive coordinator Jason Beck who’s relationship with Sellers was the selling point in his recruitment while the quarterback was injured during his junior year.
So, the quarterback room looked to be filled with a wealth of talent not too long ago. Shrader was set to have his final year as the starter, and, after that, Syracuse would have no shortage of potentially high end talent to choose from. Now, it’s full of question marks. Can Zurbrugg be the long term answer? Who knows, but what’s for sure is, after Shrader this year, the position is wide open.
