Syracuse Football: The Stretch Run to Signing Day

National Signing Day is only a few days away, and the Syracuse football staff is in the stretch run to lock in the first class for Dino Babers.

With the class of 2016 currently sitting on 21 pledges, including nine from last weekend alone, there’s not much room left at the inn and that’s reflected by the limited number of official visitors this week. In fact, only two players – Adrian Killins, and Josh White – are making the trip to Central New York.

Killins is currently committed to Central Florida and the thought is that he’ll be tough to pry out of his home state, but the Orange are certainly hoping to make a big impression on the small but speedy running back. Killins is a slot target for Syracuse, and has the blazing speed to be a game breaker.

A sprint champion in the state of Florida, Killins boasts a time of 10.53 in the 100 meter dash and claims a 4.31 time in the 40. He’s only about 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds – or about the same size as Syracuse commit Sean Riley – but he’s got the kind of elite speed and quickness that the Orange haven’t had in years, arguably since Mo Jackson and his claimed 40 time of 4.18 seconds were on the hill about 15 years ago.

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The other visitor this weekend, Josh White, is a 6-foot-5, 230 pound defensive end prospect from Georgia who transitioned from quarterback over the past year or so. White’s father played college ball at West Point, and is very familiar with the Orange. The ace in the hole could potentially be the shared history with Army, where new tight ends coach Reno Ferri also played college ball.

White has suddenly become a big priority for the Orange, as recent pledge Jaquwan Nelson is already on flip watch after Georgia and their new head coach, Kirby Smart, have turned up the heat on the talented defensive end, who will visit them this weekend. It would be a tremendous victory for Babers and his staff to hang onto Nelson, but they’re getting ready to fill his spot just in case.

White is a big, athletically gifted player who is obviously still raw at the position but his size, length, and quickness make him an appealing prospect to grow into a potentially terrific edge rusher. Georgia Tech has recently gotten on him, and did an in home visit the other night so this weekend’s official visit is big. White doesn’t have an offer from Tech, but if one comes it might be hard to pass up staying close to home.

Some other names to keep an eye on should White fall through are Rhashaun Epting, Amir Miller, and Chris Henderson. Epting is a 6-foot-4, 220 pound defensive end from Illinois who clocks a 40 time of about 4.6 seconds, and has offers from Western Michigan and Toledo, among others. Miller is an Ohio University commit from Worcester, Massachusetts, and at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds he’s already got solid size.

Miller chose Ohio over an offer from Toledo. Henderson, meanwhile, is a 6-foot-4, 230 pound defensive end from Georgia who is currently pledged to Indiana. The 3-star talent chose the Hoosiers over Louisville, Eastern Kentucky, and South Alabama, among a few other offers.

Syracuse has clearly made defensive end a priority, and hopes to hang onto Nelson this weekend while also potentially reeling in White. If those two things were to happen, the Orange would finish the 2016 cycle with four defensive end commitments (along with Kendall Coleman and Joshua Black), an impressive haul for Babers and his staff.

The Orange were hoping to finish up the class with DeVaughn Cooper, a speedy wide receiver from California and a teammate of Sean Riley’s, and Stewart Reese, a 4-star offensive guard from Florida, but according to CuseNation.com’s Mike McAllister, neither of those things is likely to happen. Cooper has affirmed his pledge to Arizona, while Reese is thought to be leaning toward Mississippi State when he makes his announcement on Monday.

Next: Syracuse Football: Looking at the Recent Defensive Commits

If Syracuse comes out of this weekend without Nelson, Killins, or Reese, but adds White, the Orange will still be sitting on 21 commitments with only a few days left until signing day. Syracuse would certainly like to add another wide receiver so it’s possible that a name like Ahmed Bah – a former Rutgers commit who has great size at 6-foot-4, but only average speed – could emerge to snag one of the final scholarships.

The Orange would also like to add more depth at quarterback, but so far no names have surfaced to provide a little more stability to the position. Syracuse could still find a junior college transfer candidate or wait on a graduate transfer, or potentially find an under the radar QB who other schools somehow missed.

It’s unlikely to happen, but one serious dark horse could wind up being a kid named Nathan Rourke, who threw 59 touchdown passes against just three interceptions in his first year playing in the United States (he’s Canadian) in a small Alabama league this season. The chances of him getting an offer are virtually nonexistent, however, but frankly I feel he’s someone to just keep an eye on anyway so we can all see if everyone made a mistake not recruiting him in a few years.