Syracuse Football: 2023 class, rankings-wise, worst in Dino Babers’ era

The early and traditional national signing days have come and gone, and Syracuse football has hauled in a 2023 class that includes some intriguing high-school prospects along with several notable transfers.

Now, to the best of my knowledge, the Orange’s 2023 cycle includes many three-star high-school players, but not four-star prospects. The ‘Cuse did have a verbal commitment from 2023 four-star quarterback LaNorris Sellers, but he ended up flipping his commitment to South Carolina last December.

Personally, I think that the Orange coaching staff landed commitments from some promising high-school players, but I know we live in a day and age where rankings are heavily examined, and many in the ‘Cuse fan base are frustrated by the team being unable to secure commitments from even four-star players, let alone five-star guys.

I get it. But as part of the squad’s 2023 class, the Orange did bring in several transfers who were four-star prospects coming out of high school, and these players transferred into the ‘Cuse from programs such as Alabama, Notre Dame and Nebraska.

Still, from a rankings perspective, the Syracuse football 2023 class is sub-par.

Okay, so I’m going to put below the national rankings of the Orange’s recruiting cycles during the tenure of head coach Dino Babers.

A couple of notes here. Babers’ first season for the ‘Cuse was in 2016, but in all fairness, his first full recruiting class was 2017. Also, the information below is from the 247Sports Web site, Rivals.com and the On3 Web site. I wasn’t able to access ratings from ESPN.

Also, from year to year, Syracuse football doesn’t necessarily have the same number of commits. That can also factor into these class rankings, and the team’s 2023 cycle was relatively small.

In any event, based on my number crunching, the “average” ranking for the Orange’s 2023 class is the lowest among any of Babers’ cycles during his time at the helm on the Hill.

Does that mean the 2023 class is bad? Absolutely not. Recruiting rankings are good context, but they don’t necessarily tell the entire story.

We’ll have to wait and see how ‘Cuse 2023 commits perform on the field in the upcoming season and beyond before making any sort of fair prognostication.

That being said, is it discouraging to me – and other Syracuse football fans out there – that the 2023 class is the lowest-ranked of any cycle under Babers? Absolutely.

Then again, there have been a lot of coaching changes in Central New York of late, and with NIL and the transfer portal, things are evolving and fluid in the recruiting arena. Some might also say that with the transfer portal, getting top-flight high-school players isn’t as important these days as it was, say, a few years ago.

I didn’t want this article to come across as overly negative. I’m simply passing along these class rankings during Babers’ tenure, and Orange fans can decide for themselves what to make of these ratings.

2023
247Sports Web Site
National Rank: 72

Rivals.com
National Rank: 94

On3 Web Site
National Rank: 76

Average: 80.67

2022
247Sports Web Site
National Rank: 65

Rivals.com
National Rank: 69

On3 Web Site
National Rank: 66

Average: 66.67

2021
247Sports Web Site
National Rank: 64

Rivals.com
National Rank: 51

On3 Web Site
National Rank: 59

Average: 58

2020
247Sports Web Site
National Rank: 62

Rivals.com
National Rank: 54

On3 Web Site
National Rank: 56

Average: 57.33

2019
247Sports Web Site
National Rank: 56

Rivals.com
National Rank: 64

On3 Web Site
National Rank: 57

Average: 59

2018
247Sports Web Site
National Rank: 51

Rivals.com
National Rank: 64

On3 Web Site
National Rank: 49

Average: 54.67

2017
247Sports Web Site
National Rank: 53

Rivals.com
National Rank: 58

On3 Web Site
National Rank: 55

Average: 55.33

2016
247Sports Web Site
National Rank: 62

Rivals.com
National Rank: 54

On3 Web Site
National Rank: 59

Average: 58.33