Syracuse Football: ‘Cuse misses on 2025 4-star recruits, top-300 national prospects

Three four-star prospects in the 2025 class, each of whom held a scholarship offer from Syracuse football coaches, will be suiting up elsewhere in college.

One of those ‘Cuse targets is four-star quarterback Matt Zollers out of Spring-Ford Area High School in Royersford, Pa.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Zollers was re-offered by the new Orange coaching staff on January 11, he said via his X page.

Per reports from Rivals.com national analyst Adam Friedman and others, Zollers has named a top four of Penn State, Pittsburgh, Missouri and Georgia.

At the time of this writing, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite placed him, within the junior cycle, at No. 197 overall, No. 13 at quarterback and No. 6 in Pennsylvania.

Syracuse football didn’t prevail for several 2025 four-star targets.

Four-star athlete Quintin Simmons Jr., late last month, named a top six of the Orange, Kentucky, Penn State, West Virginia, Michigan and Cincinnati.

But the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Simmons, a standout wide receiver and running back who attends Withrow University High School in Cincinnati, has verbally committed to Kentucky.

Simmons was initially offered a scholarship by the former Syracuse football coaching staff in February of 2023. The 247Sports Composite ranks him at No. 245 nationwide, No. 30 at wide receiver and No. 10 in Ohio.

Four-star linebacker Alex Tatsch said via his X page on January 13 that he had picked up a scholarship offer from Orange coaches.

The 6-foot-3, 217-pound Tatsch, though, has verbally committed to Penn State. He is a junior at Greater Latrobe Senior High School in Latrobe, Pa.

When I wrote this story, the 247Sports Composite had Tatsch at No. 331 nationwide, No. 38 at linebacker and No. 10 in Pennsylvania within the 2025 class.

The ‘Cuse coaching staff, late last month, did get on the board with its first 2025 verbal pledge.

On January 27, four-star edge and top-300 national prospect Sharlandiin Strange verbally committed to Syracuse football over other finalists Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Southern California.

The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Strange attends Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pa. The former Orange coaching staff first offered him a scholarship back in January of 2023.

While Syracuse football didn’t win out for Zollers, Simmons or Tatsch, ‘Cuse coaches are firmly in the mix for numerous other highly rated recruits in the 2025 cycle.