Syracuse football strikes out on prospect, looks elsewhere

Jason Henderson, a three-star linebacker recruit chose Old Dominion over the likes of Syracuse football. Now, the Orange must look elsewhere for an LB.

Syracuse football lost out on a prospective class of 2021 linebacker recruit. Jason Henderson, a Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania product, chose the likes of Old Dominion as his college destination. Henderson announced his decision via social media.

Henderson would have filled the void for the Orange, who only received two commitments from linebackers in the class of 2021, with both being OLBs. Dino Babers and his crew only have one in the class of 2020 in Anwar Sparrow. While they aren’t desperate at the moment, it is clearly a position they’d like to be deeper at.

The linebacker position for Syracuse has been decent in recent years, so it should be an attractive position for prospective recruits. In 2018, the Indianapolis Colts drafted a ‘Cuse LB in Zaire Franklin. In 2014, it was Marquis Spruill going to the Atlanta Falcons. Syracuse football has built a solid foundation with their linebackers, but can’t let up on the recruiting trail.

The Orange do have multiple intriguing prospects at linebacker that could very well end up signing. Mikai Gbayor, a 6-foot-2, 220 pounds inside linebacker from Irvington, New Jersey would be a versatile pickup for an area where SU often recruits well from. Gbayor would be one of the Orange’s most prized recruits in the class of 2021 and would make for a very nice class at LB heading into the 2021 season.

While Henderson didn’t ultimately end up in Orange, his decision to play at Old Dominion forces Syracuse to turn the page elsewhere. ‘Cuse will need to hit the recruiting trail hard to land a solid inside lindebacker.