One of the top running backs in the 2024 class, a top-200 national prospect from New Jersey, plans to take an official visit to Syracuse football this weekend, according to reports from SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister and others.
That high school player is Yasin Willis, a 6-foot, 225-pound prospect who is a standout senior at Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J.
Willis verbally committed to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Pittsburgh in late July. Throughout his recruiting process, he has amassed more than 20 scholarship offers, including from the Orange, according to his bio on Rivals.com.
Per the 247Sports Web site, the ‘Cuse coaching staff offered Willis in October of 2021. He took an unofficial visit to the Hill in April of 2022.
Syracuse football will soon host 2024 four-star running back Yasin Willis on an official visit.
Besides the Orange and the Panthers, Willis’ full offer sheet includes schools such as Alabama, Michigan, Boston College, Cincinnati, UConn, Duke, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among others.
Willis, over the past three seasons of high school, has put forth some really impressive numbers, which you can check out via the MaxPreps Web site.
In recent days, Rivals.com updated its 2024 national rankings of the top-250 players. Willis arrived at No. 191 overall, No. 12 at running back and No. 1 in New Jersey within the senior cycle.
Fran Brown, most recently the defensive backs coach at Georgia, is a native of Camden, N.J., and was formally introduced by SU Athletics this past Monday as the new head coach of Syracuse football.
His new defensive coordinator is Elijah Robinson, who previously served as co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Texas A&M. Robinson is also from Camden. Both he and Brown, who are long-time friends, have strong recruiting ties in New Jersey and throughout the Northeast region.
The Orange’s list of official visits this coming weekend is quite impressive. In addition to Willis, those expected to make trips to Central New York in the near future include 2024 four-star defensive back Koy Beasley from Ohio, 2024 four-star defensive back Josh Philostin from Florida, 2024 four-star cornerback Marcellus Barnes Jr. from Tennessee, 2024 four-star wide receiver Jaylan Hornsby from New Jersey, 2024 four-star edge KingJoseph Edwards from Georgia, and 2024 four-star wide receiver Emanuel Ross from New Jersey.