Another day, another new prospect for Fran Brown and Syracuse’s defense. This time, it’s another instant-impact transfer: Clarence Lewis, a cornerback from Notre Dame.
Lewis was a 3-star recruit out of high school, and maintains that status as a transfer. For the Fighting Irish, he played regularly for all four years, with 23 starts in his time there. While Lewis played the least last season, there’s still a ton of talent there, and there’s no reason he can’t get involved for the Orange.
Interestingly, Lewis’s best game was against Syracuse as a freshman, when he tallied a career high 12 tackles and a forced fumble. Now, that talent will be used for the ‘Cuse instead of against the ‘Cuse.
The defensive back unit that Lewis joins is one with a lot of change from last season. Most notably, cornerback Duce Chestnut returns after a year at LSU. He was a two-time All-ACC selection in his first stint with SU, but who knows what he’s like after not even being on the Tigers’ sideline for much of last year. Other than that, the big notable name at the cornerback position is Jayden Bellamy, who became a starter for SU in the second half of last season, but wasn’t eye-popping on the field. The safety unit should be more stable with Justin Barron, Alijah Clark, and Devin Grant leading the way. But, the doors are wide open for Clarence Lewis to make a name for himself at cornerback.
In the long term, Syracuse is doing some recruiting work in adding defensive backs. The Orange just got a verbal commitment from safety Izayia Williams, a top-50 overall recruit in the class of 2026. SU also has landed four-star Demetres Samuels from that class, who’s listed as an athlete, but has plenty of defensive back experience.
Fran Brown’s experience as a defensive backs coach is proving to be quite helpful.
