Syracuse Football: With 4-star Enrique Cruz, 2021 class rankings jump
By Neil Adler
The Syracuse football future offensive line got a major boost with the addition of 2021 four-star offensive tackle Enrique Cruz.
The Labor Day holiday weekend started and ended with exciting news for Syracuse football, as 2021 four-star offensive tackle Enrique Cruz committed to the Orange on Monday night.
The pledge by the 6-foot-5, 252-pound Cruz comes after 2021 three-star wide receiver Umari Hatcher committed to the ‘Cuse on Friday.
Presently, according to the 247Sports Composite, Cruz and Hatcher are the second- and third-highest-rated members, respectively, within the Syracuse football 2021 recruiting cycle.
Cruz, a senior at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Ill., and Hatcher, a senior at Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Va., are placed at No. 477 and No. 818 overall in their class.
COMMITTED!! SYRACRUZ! I would like to thank everyone who has helped me the Syracuse coaches @CoachLynch @CoachCavCuseOL @CoachBabersCuse and all my coaches coach Hildreth! Coach p! And coach Madison thank you all you’ve all helped me and inspired me thank you for everything! pic.twitter.com/xZqbIAYLkA
— Enrique A Cruz Jr (@Enriquecruzz1) September 7, 2020
Only cornerback Duce Chestnut, a senior at Camden High School in Camden, N.J., is rated higher than these two 2021 prospects. Chestnut currently checks in at No. 455 nationally within this recruiting cycle, per the 247Sports Composite.
Enrique Cruz, a four-star offensive tackle, has bolstered the Syracuse football 2021 class by committing to the Orange.
Cruz coming on board at the ‘Cuse gives Syracuse football a total of 20 pledges in its 2021 class, with 11 of them offensive players, and the remaining nine on defense.
After Hatcher’s commitment, the 2021 recruiting cycle for the Orange arrived at No. 51 across the country at Rivals.com, as well as No. 53 on the 247Sports Web site. Following the pledge by Cruz, the ‘Cuse 2021 class is up to No. 45 on the 247Sports Web site and No. 46 at Rivals.com.
According to these two recruiting services, Cruz held 16 offers, from squads such as Arizona, Arizona State, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Memphis, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Temple, Utah, Wake Forest and West Virginia.
While the 247Sports Composite and Rivals.com list him as a three-star prospect, 247Sports itself has rated Cruz as four stars, No. 202 overall in the 2021 class, No. 23 at offensive tackle and No. 4 in the state of Illinois.
The 247Sports Composite, in addition to naming him No. 477 nationally, puts Cruz as the No. 41 offensive tackle and No. 13 prospect in Illinois. Rivals.com has him as the No. 28 high-school player in that state.