Syracuse football in Big Ten battle for 2021 DE Terrance Butler Jr.

Syracuse football remains in contention for stellar 2021 defensive end Terrance Butler Jr., but competition for the three-star prospect is fierce.

Terrance Butler Jr., a top-50 weak-side defensive end from Baltimore, has released a top six that includes Syracuse football, however, the Orange will have to outdo a handful of excellent programs to land this elite high-school player.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Butler, a 2021 prospect who attends the St. Frances Academy, lists his finalists as the ‘Cuse, Big Ten Conference members Maryland, Michigan State and Minnesota, the Southeastern Conference’s Tennessee and Florida International out of Conference USA.

Butler revealed his group of contenders via Twitter, although he did add in a tweet that his recruitment is “still 100% open,” so it’s certainly possible that he could change the crews in the running for Butler’s services over time.

For now, though, it’s a Big Ten-heavy final six, which means that Syracuse has a huge challenge ahead to get Butler. The Big Ten often goes toe to toe with the SEC for supremacy as the premier league across collegiate football.

The primary recruiting services of ESPN.com, Rivals.com, 247Sports and the 247Sports Composite all rate him as a three-star guy. Butler is a top-30 player in the state of Maryland, per all of these recruiting Web sites.

As far as the weak-side defensive-end position goes, he is slotted nationally at No. 45 by the 247Sports Composite, and at No. 46 by 247Sports.

Overall in the 2021 class, Butler is rated as the No. 806 player in the country, says the 247Sports Composite.

In reviewing the main recruiting services, it doesn’t appear as if there is a singular favorite, or even a few, at this juncture for Butler. He may have whittled his finalists down to a half-dozen, but he’s also said that his recruiting process remains open.

Given the multiple Big Ten squads in the mix for Butler, Syracuse will face an uphill fight to ultimately win out. We’ll of course keep tabs on Butler, and he would absolutely prove a tremendous pick-up for the Orange.