Syracuse football must improve recruiting closer to home, per Rivals.com
By Neil Adler
Because of the pandemic, recruiting in geographic areas nearer to a team’s campus may prove more important than ever, and Syracuse football has work to do.
Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, Rivals.com has offered an assessment about how Syracuse football and other Atlantic Coast Conference programs have recently fared in their 2021-class recruiting.
In particular, Rivals.com is examining how these squads “have recruited locally and away from home as the summer continues into an uncertain fall.”
With the NCAA’s moratorium on in-person recruiting, and traveling iffy for many folks these days, it’s a huge challenge even if prospects want to check out campuses on their own, separate from official or unofficial visits.
Those high-school players who live in New York or other nearby states have a better chance of having an ability to make a trip to the Hill, as compared to guys who hail from states further across the country.
Certainly, the Orange coaching staff is relying on virtual visits, and ‘Cuse coaches actually have performed admirably with their recruiting of late by spreading their geographic reach.
However, if the pandemic continues on for an extended period of time, an argument could get made that it’s important for head coach Dino Babers and his assistants to secure talented prospects who are closer to Central New York, rather than far away.
"As far as that topic is concerned, here’s what Adam Gorney and Mike Farrell said in their Rivals.com story about the Orange. “The Syracuse coaching staff started this recruiting class locally with four prospects within a seven-hour range of campus, but since that time the Orange have gone all over the country to round out this group. Defensive end Terry Lockett from Springfield (Mass.) Central leads the way, and then three-star LB Malik Matthew from Bronx (N.Y.) Lehman is the only other commit among a surge of out-of-region pledges in recent months.”"
Those recent commitments by prospects who are much further away from the ‘Cuse campus include Justin Lamson, a three-star quarterback from California, three-star defensive end Jatius Geer from South Carolina, and three-star offensive tackle Austyn Kauhi from Hawaii.
Farrell, the national recruiting director at Rivals.com, says that Syracuse football “has trouble recruiting locally because there isn’t a ton of talent, but New Jersey and New England used to be very good for them and they aren’t anymore. That’s a big problem.”