Syracuse Football: Big Recruiting Weekend Ahead

Syracuse football practice is underway but there’s no rest on the recruiting trail, as a number of big-time prospects will be on campus this weekend.

Last weekend the Orange hosted a number of bit-time prospects, including 4-star QB Kasim Hill and 3-star RB Weston Bridges, along with legacy recruit Ethan Wiederkehr, a 3-star offensive lineman whose father, Hans, played at Syracuse in the ’80s.

Of course that’s just a few of the names who were on campus, and some equally impressive prospects will be visiting this weekend, taking in the Syracuse basketball game against NC State on Saturday. Among the bigger names on the list are CJ Holmes and Allen Stritzinger, a pair of 4-star prospects.

Holmes is a dynamic athlete from Connecticut who holds offers from Mississippi State, Boston College, Tennessee, and Rutgers among others, and the 6-foot, 190 pound playmaker is being looked at as a big-time offensive weapon at either running back or wide receiver.

Stritzinger, meanwhile, is another high level running back, and the Michigan native currently holds offers from his home-state Wolverines, along with a handful of offers from some lower level schools. Syracuse has offered the 6-foot, 183 pound running back, and right now he’s very high on the Orange.

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This weekend features a good number of players from the Northeast, with multiple prospects from Connecticut, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as Babers and his staff continue to try to keep some of the top talent close to home.

Another running back making the trip this weekend is Tayon Fleet-Davis, who was originally supposed to be on campus last week but was forced to push his visit back a week due to a miscommunication. The 3-star Maryland RB has good size at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds, and holds offers from Maryland, NC State, West Virginia, Iowa, and Rutgers, among others.

One other highly intriguing prospect making the trip this weekend is Jairus Grissom, an electric athlete from Michigan who Syracuse is considering for one of its QB spots in the class of 2017, though he’s versatile enough to be able to play receiver or defensive back, as well. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds he’s got solid size, and his speed and quickness make him a dangerous prospect if he does wind up sticking to offense. Right now he has offers from NC State and Wake Forest among the Power 5 schools, and also has offers from Western Michigan, Toledo, Houston, and Central Michigan, among others.

One name that Syracuse fans should be paying attention to is Gabe Sherrod. He’s not part of this weekend’s influx of 2017 talent, as he’ll be a graduate transfer out of Delaware State. The 6-foot-4 defensive end led the FCS in tackles for loss last season, and has the kind of size and explosiveness to become a tremendous pass rusher at the P5 level. He’s got one year of eligibility left, and right now it looks like Syracuse is the leader for his services.

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Sherrod would fill a huge need, as defensive end is the thinnest position on the Syracuse roster. Chances are that if he does wind up selecting Syracuse, he’ll start at one DE spot, opposite Jake Pickard, in all likelihood. The fact that Sherrod could step in and start from day one has to make the Orange especially appealing to him. He’ll be in town the next couple days, so don’t be surprised if he pulls the trigger on a pledge to the Orange.

Sherrod will graduate from Delaware State this spring, so wherever he winds up, he’ll be a summer enrollee.

It might be a little early to start looking for any commitments out of these big recruiting weekends, though don’t be surprised to see kids start leaning toward the Orange in the near future. If I had to put money on it right now, I’d say that one of last week’s visitors, Weston Bridges, seems particularly high on Syracuse and it wouldn’t shock me if he decided to commit in the near future, though right now, nothing seems particularly imminent.