High-quality transfer offensive linemen keep on committing to Syracuse football, and that pleases me to no end as the program prepares for summer workouts and then preseason camp ahead of the 2025 campaign, when it will face a daunting docket.
Florida State transfer TJ Ferguson, rated as four stars and one of the top interior offensive linemen in the transfer portal during the spring window by 247Sports, has pledged to the Orange, he revealed on his Instagram page.
A huge congrats and welcome from 'Cuse Nation to TJ!
By my count, over the last two weeks, Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown and his staff have secured commitments from at least four transfer offensive linemen, along with an additional one last December during the winter transfer portal window.
Given that the offensive line is clearly a priority for Brown and his assistants, on paper, they have done an excellent job with their recent portal recruiting efforts. I'd also like to note that in the 2025 term, the 'Cuse has to replace record-setting quarterback Kyle McCord with another signal-caller.
The team's starting QB this fall will be much more unproven at the collegiate level, and for the Orange to have a successful stanza, the offensive line will need to perform well.
Syracuse football continues to beef up its offensive line for 2025.
The 6-foot-4, 330-pound Ferguson, who hails from Georgia, recently went on a visit to the 'Cuse, according to media reports and recruiting analysts.
In the 2024 season, he was a redshirt junior with the Seminoles, meaning that he will have one term of collegiate eligibility left with the Orange. Before FSU, Ferguson had suited up at Alabama out of the Southeastern Conference.
When I wrote this article, in its national transfer rankings, 247Sports placed him as four stars, No. 145 overall and No. 14 at interior offensive lineman.
As a prep recruit in the 2021 class, Ferguson was a standout at Peach County High School in Fort Valley, Ga. His scholarship offer list while in high school was impressive, with suitors such as Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Indiana, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas A&M, among others, per the 247Sports Web site.
In the 2021 cycle, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite had Ferguson as four stars, No. 58 nationally, No. 2 at interior offensive lineman and No. 6 in Georgia. On3, meanwhile, rated him as the No. 35 national prospect in this class.
From the transfer portal, besides Ferguson, other offensive linemen who have pledged to Syracuse football include three-star Zach Rice from North Carolina, three-star Kam Pringle from South Carolina, three-star Austin Collins from Louisville and three-star Naquil Betrand from Alabama.