Syracuse Football: Multiple predictions in SU’s favor for 4-star CB Marcellus Barnes Jr.

Syracuse football is garnering a bit of analyst buzz in the recruitment of four-star Marcellus Barnes Jr., who is one of the top cornerbacks around the country in the 2024 class.

Two weekends ago, Orange head coach Fran Brown and his staff hosted the 6-foot-1, 170-pound Barnes on an official visit, and the top-200 national prospect in the senior cycle said that trip to the Hill went quite well.

When I wrote this article on Monday night, there were at least two predictions in the direction of the ‘Cuse for Barnes between the 247Sports Web site and the On3 Web site.

Naturally, these sorts of projections aren’t always accurate, but it’s nevertheless an encouraging sign for the Orange’s chances to prevail for Barnes.

Syracuse football appears to be in a strong spot for 2024 4-star CB Marcellus Barnes Jr.

Barnes, who received a scholarship offer from the ‘Cuse coaching staff on December 4, is a standout senior at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., a squad that captured a state championship not too long ago.

Per media reports, Barnes is eyeing a commitment announcement on January 6, and as far as I can tell, he is expected to choose between Syracuse football and a pair of Southeastern Conference members, Georgia and Ole Miss.

He had been verbally committed to Atlantic Coast Conference school Virginia Tech, but in mid-November, Barnes de-committed from the Hokies and reopened his recruitment.

His full offer sheet, by the way, includes Baylor, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wake Forest, among others.

I’ve read that Brown was the lead recruiter for Barnes while the new Orange head coach was serving as the defensive backs coach with the Bulldogs.

Brown officially joined the ‘Cuse as head coach on December 4, around which time Syracuse football extended an offer to Barnes. It does seem that Georgia, even with Brown now in Central New York, is continuing to make a push for Barnes.

He is a top-flight player in the 2024 class. On3, at present, is most bullish on Barnes, ranking him at No. 193 nationally, No. 23 at cornerback and No. 4 in Tennessee.

Both of the industry-generated rating systems, the 247Sports Composite and the On3 Industry Ranking, place him as four stars, a top-400 overall player, a top-30 cornerback and a top-10 prospect coming out of Tennessee.

In a piece this week, recruiting analyst Charles Kang of The Juice Online wrote in part that he believes Syracuse football “is very much a serious contender” in Barnes’ recruiting process. Stay tuned.