Syracuse football is a finalist for 4-star cornerback, who sets decision date

Marcellus Barnes Jr., a four-star cornerback in the senior class from Tennessee, plans to make his commitment announcement in early January, and Syracuse football is one of his finalists, according to a media report.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Barnes, who was one of numerous highly rated prospects on official visits to the Orange this past weekend, will “announce a college commitment on Jan. 6 at the All-American Bowl and Syracuse will have a hat on the table alongside the likes of Georgia and Ole Miss,” per an article from top national analyst Steve Wiltfong, who is the director of recruiting at 247Sports.

That’s awesome to hear. Barnes picked up a scholarship offer from the new Syracuse football coaching staff on December 4. According to reports, Fran Brown was recruiting Barnes while serving as the defensive backs coach at Georgia.

A week ago, Brown was formally introduced by SU Athletics as the new head coach of the ‘Cuse, replacing Dino Babers. Over the past week, Brown and the Orange coaching staff that he’s building up have gotten after it on the recruiting trail, hosting targets on official visits, making the rounds at various high schools, and doling out new offers to a variety of prospects.

Syracuse football is a contender for 2024 four-star cornerback Marcellus Barnes Jr.

Barnes is a standout at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., and you can check out his impressive senior-year statistics via the MaxPreps Web site.

In the recently completed 2023 season, Barnes helped lead McCallie to a state championship, and it was the team’s fourth state title in the last five years.

He had been verbally committed to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference team Virginia Tech, but in mid-November, he de-committed from the Hokies and reopened his recruitment back up.

His full offer sheet, according to recruiting services, includes Baylor, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wake Forest, among others.

At the time of this writing, there were several analyst predictions logged in Georgia’s direction for Barnes on the 247Sports Web site. However, those projections were all put in last month, so let’s see if things change at all in the coming weeks prior to Barnes’ college decision.

Several recruiting Web sites rate him as a national prospect in the 2024 cycle. On3, at present, is the most bullish on Barnes, placing him at No. 192 overall, No. 23 at cornerback and No. 4 in Tennessee.

The industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking, when I penned this piece, had him at No. 343 nationally, No. 30 at his position and No. 9 in Tennessee.

Over at the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, Barnes checked in at No. 377 nationwide, No. 32 at cornerback and No. 9 in Tennessee.