Syracuse Football: 2021 class helps address biggest recruiting needs

A recruiting analyst says that the Syracuse football 2021 class is focused on the team’s most important recruiting needs.

Syracuse football is in the midst of an abysmal 2020 season in which it may only win one game, and there are a lot of reasons why this is transpiring.

The novel coronavirus pandemic shut down spring ball, and limited summer work-outs as well as fall camp, which certainly made things more challenging for an Orange team with first-year offensive and defensive coordinators. In all fairness, though, every college football squad has had to deal with these obstacles in one way or another.

The ‘Cuse has gotten decimated by injuries and opt-outs amid the pandemic, and two components of the team’s roster under particular stress are the quarterback position as well as the offensive line.

Adam Friedman, a recruiting analyst with Rivals.com, recently published an article where he examined the 2021 classes of all Atlantic Coast Conference members, and how well they have fared as it pertains to meeting their specific needs.

Friedman noted that the Orange’s biggest recruiting needs are on the offensive line and at quarterback, and he says that the ‘Cuse 2021 class is making progress toward addressing those needs.

The Syracuse football 2021 class is helping to address the team’s needs, an analyst says.

"Here’s what Friedman said of the ‘Cuse in his write-up. “Syracuse could use help at a variety of positions, but the Orange prioritized offensive line and quarterback in this recruiting cycle. Dino Babers and his staff found five offensive linemen they plan on signing this year, with all five hailing from either Minnesota, Illinois or Hawaii. Wes Hoeh and Enrique Cruz, the duo from Illinois, and Kalan Ellis from Hawaii figure to be the best of the group. The Orange were dealt a tough hand when starting QB Tommy DeVito went down with a season-ending injury, but it didn’t hurt their recruiting efforts with future Syracuse signal caller Justin Lamson.”"

We documented the Orange’s offensive-line group within the 2021 class not too long ago. By extension, this article from July details how landing Lamson – a three-star, top-20 dual-threat quarterback in the 2021 cycle – can bolster Syracuse football’s recruiting efforts moving forward.

Pete Thamel recently wrote a column for Yahoo Sports in which he said that the ‘Cuse has a “lack of talent” at quarterback, and head coach Dino Babers “has yet to recruit and develop a proven ACC-level starter, and the lack of depth in that [quarterback] room has always been glaringly thin.”

Mike Curtis of Syracuse.com pointed out in a story that the Orange “has six quarterbacks on the roster.”

At this juncture, Syracuse football has 21 commitments for its 2021 class, which is ranked No. 46 nationally by Rivals.com and No. 47 overall via 247Sports.

This cycle for the ‘Cuse is positioned to be the best one for Babers during his tenure so far on the Hill.