Syracuse Football: Landon Morris adds playmaking for Orange

Syracuse Football has received another commitment for its class of 2021. Landon Morris, three-star tight end from Illinois, committed Tuesday afternoon.

Syracuse Football received the commitment from Landon Morris, a three-star tight end from Illinois. Morris attends Nazareth Academy and is the eighth recruit so far for their next recruiting class. Morris was primarily recruited by Mike Lynch and Reno Ferri.

The Orange outlasted Power-5 schools such as Boston College, Iowa State, and Michigan for Morris. Listed at six-foot-five and 210 pounds, Morris figures to be a talented pass-catcher for the Orange through his college career.

Allen Trieu, a National Recruiting Analyst for 247 Sports, projects him to be a Power-5 starter and compared him to current Green Bay Packer Allen Lazard.

"“Tall, long frame. High school receiver who will need to add weight to transition to tight end in college. Smooth athlete who is comfortable running routes and tracking the ball in the air.”"

Lazard is a big compliment of comparison for Morris. Lazard caught 241 passes during his time with Iowa State; 26 of them for scores. Many recruiting services have listed Morris as a wideout but in his commit Morris acknowledged himself as a tight end.

This could be an advantage for the Orange. Having versatile tight ends has been important in the Dino Babers system. Currently, the tight ends with the most run for Syracuse are Luke Benson, Aaron Hackett, and fullback hybrid Chris Elmore.

Hackett and Elmore have been used more as blockers, and in Hackett’s case; safety valve for the Orange offense. Benson showed later in the season in limited duty his playmaking ability. In the month of November, Benson had five of his eight catches and two of his three receiving touchdowns.

Morris seems to fit in the Benson mold more than he would in the Hackett one of being able to block on the edge. Along with the seniors to be Hackett and Elmore and sophomore Benson, Syracuse has Zack Lesko, Jesse Connors, and intriguing six-foot-seven freshman Maximilian Mang out of Germany on the roster.