Syracuse Football: ‘Cuse 2024 class vaults into top 35 across the country

Syracuse football, buoyed by a flurry of verbal commitments this month, has seen its 2024 class move into the top 35 around the country, according to one of the primary recruiting services.

Now, before I go too far cheerleading with my Orange-colored glasses on, I readily acknowledge that these sorts of class ratings will ebb and flow as the ‘Cuse and all of its peers nationwide add to their 2024 cycles.

Plus, a team’s class size at this juncture will factor into these kinds of rankings, and Syracuse football, at the time of this writing, had 15 verbal commitments in its 2024 cycle, including a dozen pledges in June alone.

Some schools, both above and below the Orange in these national rankings, have smaller classes at this point, but that will change, and it will likely result in the ‘Cuse witnessing its 2024 team ratings fluctuate one way or another.

However, the Syracuse football 2024 class rankings, no matter how you slice it, are encouraging.

When I penned this column, Rivals.com had the Orange’s 2024 cycle at No. 35 nationally. This ‘Cuse class checks at No. 40 overall, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. And the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking has the Syracuse football 2024 cycle at No. 42 nationwide and No. 11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

For what it’s worth, over at Rivals.com, the ‘Cuse 2024 class is ranked higher than teams such as Oklahoma, Cincinnati, TCU (which played in the most recent College Football Playoff title game), Auburn, N.C. State and Texas. But to reiterate, some of these other schools, for now, have 2024 cycles that are smaller in size than the Orange’s.

Okay, so naturally some of my fellow Syracuse football fans may chime in right now and say, “Hey, wait a minute, Neil. What’s so special about a 2024 class ranking hovering around No. 40 nationally?”

That’s a fair point. I admit that it’s not like the ‘Cuse 2024 cycle is on par with some of the heavyweights in the sport of college football, such as Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State and others.

And it’s highly unlikely that, anytime soon, Syracuse football will have recruiting classes rated anywhere near these other schools. At the same time, though, the Orange’s class just one cycle ago, in 2023, was really sub-par from a national rankings standpoint.

Therefore, for the ‘Cuse to have secured a bunch of verbal commitments this month, including from a pair of 2024 four-star prospects, to me, illustrates that hopefully, Syracuse football recruiting efforts are trending in a positive direction. And I believe that they are.

https://twitter.com/Commit2Cuse/status/1673032283152957442

Heck, in a roughly 26-hour stretch from Sunday evening to Monday night alone, the Orange landed four verbal commitments, including from 2024 four-star quarterback Jakhari Williams, who is rated a top-15 QB and a top-200 national prospect in this cycle, according to some recruiting services.

https://twitter.com/JakhariWilliam4/status/1673419367063646214

Another recent verbal commit to the ‘Cuse is four-star tight end/wide receiver Jamie Tremble, who is a top-250 overall player and a top-15 tight end nationwide, per 247Sports.

When I wrote this piece, seven of the Orange’s 15 verbal commitments so far in the 2024 cycle were nationally ranked in the top 1,000, per the 247Sports Composite. Via the On3 Industry Ranking, 12 of the 15 ‘Cuse pledges were nationally rated in the top 1,500.

To reiterate, I’m not suggesting that Syracuse football is now some kind of recruiting powerhouse that will compete toe-for-toe with, say, Clemson in the ACC for elite five-star players. However, the Orange does possess a top 35 to top 40 class in the 2024 cycle.

Given where the ‘Cuse was a year ago, that, to me, suggests progress, and Syracuse football coaches should be commended for their efforts to date in the rising-senior class.