Syracuse Football: Orange add freakish local TE prospect, tale of the tape

Syracuse football has added a local tight end prospect who could be a star for the Orange. Our recruiting analyst breaks down the tale of the tape here.

Syracuse football picked up another commit recently. Steven Mahar, a tight end from Rochester, New York selected the Orange after visiting the campus last weekend. Interestingly enough, Mahar is the first player from New York to give a verbal commitment to the Orange.

The Rochester native is 6-foot-5 and 225-pounds. He plays his high school at powerhouse, Aquinas Institute, where he stars at tight end and defensive end. In addition to the offer from the Orange, Mahar had offers from Boston College, Indiana, Iowa State, and Rutgers.

According to 247sports.com, Mahar is a 3-star prospect and the 5th best player in the state and the 33rd best player at his position. Mahar was also recruited by Justin Lustig. Mahar is being recruited as a player on the offensive side of the football.

He is listed as a tight end, but as we’ve seen in the Dino Babers offense, its all about matchup problems. If Mahar has the speed and ability to play wide receiver, you could see him there.

Mahar announced his commitment via Twitter:

Let’s take a look at the highlights:

From the get-go of the highlights tape at the :13 mark you see what kind of a weapon Mahar could be for this offense in the red zone. He is lined up as a tight end and is being covered by a linebacker on the other team. He gets a good release off the line of scrimmage, gaining some separation on the man. The defender actually plays pretty decent coverage for never turning his head, but it doesn’t matter, as Mahar rips down the ball for an easy touchdown.

Mahar is also a deep threat. At the 1:39 mark of the film, you see him once again lined up at the tight end spot, and he just runs a simple go route down the seam of the defense. He doesn’t appear to have blazing speed, but it is adequate. Mahar does a good job of finding a hole in the defense and hauling in the reception.

Lastly, if Mahar is going to play tight end, he will need to block. At the 1:57 mark of the tape, he is lined up at tight end (on his future turf). Aquinas has a run play called to his side. Mahar is one on one against the defensive end, and he does a great job to open up the hole the running back hits. He simply moves the defensive end, creating a huge hole and allowing the ball carrier to get to the next level.

Mahar is a really nice addition to the Syracuse class. He is a highly regarded recruit, with a solid offer list. In addition, he grew up an hour down the road, it is so important to keep those recruits at home.