Syracuse Football: Gabe Horan news leaves Orange extremely thin at TE

The Syracuse football team just lost a promising young prospect at tight end. Here’s where the Orange stand after the devastating news.

Some devastating news came across the transaction wire earlier this week for the Syracuse football squad. True freshman Gabe Horan has been medically disqualified due to issues with concussions, per SU Athletics.

Horan was a local product out of Baldwinsville and showed some real promise this past season for the Orange catching a touchdown pass on his first reception in his collegiate career.

Horan was “blindsided” by the news per Nate Mink of Syracuse.com. Apparently, Horan had received a blow from behind leading up to the Clemson game this past season during practice and had residual effects weeks after.

Despite going through rounds of therapy for his ocular concussion (affecting his vision) and even getting medically approved by a renowned concussion specialist from Pittsburgh, Syracuse wouldn’t budge on their decision.

When Horan and Syracuse were paired together, it seemed like it would be a really heartwarming story for years to come. From a pure football perspective, this puts the Orange in a precarious position when you look at the tight ends on their roster moving forward.

2018 tight ends Ravian Pierce and Kyle Kleinberg are graduating from the program, which leaves Syracuse with just two scholarship players at the position:

• Chris Elmore
  • 6 foot flat and weighs 280 pounds, honestly he’s more of a traditional fullback but has lined up and is listed at tight end. 2019 will be his junior season in Orange.
• Aaron Hackett
  • 6-foot-3 and weighs 230 pounds. More of a traditional tight end who can help in the receiving game. Hackett will also be a junior in 2019.

Rex Culpepper has returned to his original position of quarterback in preparation of the 2019 season after moving over to tight end last season, per Stephen Bailey of Syracuse.com.

In the latest recruiting cycle, Syracuse will be bringing in tight end Luke Benson out of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. So help is on the way, but Syracuse could use even more help. Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers revealed on National Signing Day that the team would explore the transfer portal for some tight end prospects (prior to this Horan news becoming public).

Here are some transfer portal prospects the Orange should take a closer look at (via 247 2019 College Football Transfer Portal):

Kyle Penniston, TE, Wisconsin

• Three-star prospect
• Immediately eligible
• 6-foot-5, 230 pounds
  • Kyle’s size jumped off to me on paper and he would immediately be a red-zone threat and would provide a nice security blanket for Tommy DeVito. Outside of fit in the offense, there is no obvious connection between Syracuse and Penniston.

Tyler Mabry, TE, Buffalo

• Two-star prospect
• Immediately eligible
• 6-foot-3, 265 pounds
  • A slightly underrated prospect based on the national perception, but could be a real nice fit with Syracuse. Obviously, Mabry has New York ties choosing Buffalo out of high school graduating from IMG Academy. Tons of Syracuse players have come via IMG so there’s a connection.

Naseir Upshur, TE, FSU

• Four-star prospect
• Status unclear
• 6-foot-2, 233 pounds
  • A talented, yet extremely underused prospect for ACC rival Florida State. The true junior has recorded just four catches for 53 yards in three seasons, per Noles 247 Sports. Why leave the ACC? FSU hasn’t used Upshur, so why not come over to Syracuse and stick it back to the Seminoles.