Syracuse Football: Orange has beefed up defensive line depth with 3-star ‘TANK’

Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown and his staff continue to pick up high-quality commitments via the transfer portal.

One of the latest additions is three-star Dion Wilson Jr., a junior defensive lineman at Conference USA member New Mexico State who said on his X page that he was pledging to the Orange.

By my count, when I wrote this article, the ‘Cuse had landed at least nine college transfers via the portal, and the 6-foot-5, 300-pound Wilson provides the team with strong depth on the defensive line.

Nicknamed the “TANK” on his X page, Wilson is rated three stars, has a national ranking and is deemed one of the top defensive tackles who was in the transfer portal, according to recruiting services.

Wilson was planning to take an official visit to Syracuse football and several other schools in the coming days, but those trips weren’t needed, as he committed to the ‘Cuse prior to going on these visits.

Syracuse football has bolstered its defensive line with 3-star Dion Wilson Jr.

Wilson said he landed a scholarship offer from the Orange on December 27. Other college teams that recently had offered him included Coastal Carolina, Texas A&M, Rutgers, California, Indiana, Colorado State, Jacksonville State, Texas Tech, North Texas and Western Kentucky.

Wilson, who says that he has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining, played for Pac-12 Conference school Arizona before heading to New Mexico State.

In the recent 2023 season, Wilson registered 18 solo tackles, 13 assisted tackles, 31 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks and one forced fumble.

At the time of this writing, the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking placed him at No. 420 in its national transfer ratings, while Rivals.com had Wilson at No. 838 across the country.

As a member of the 2020 recruiting cycle, Wilson was a three-star, top-900 national prospect who attended Orange Vista High School in Perris, Calif.

Beyond Wilson, Syracuse football has received commitments from college transfers such as four-star LSU junior cornerback Duce Chestnut, three-star Georgia freshman offensive lineman Joshua Miller, four-star Texas A&M junior defensive lineman Fadil Diggs, four-star Georgia freshman wide receiver Yazeed Haynes, three-star Buffalo sophomore safety Devin Grant, three-star West Virginia freshman linebacker James Heard Jr., four-star Ohio State junior quarterback Kyle McCord and three-star Georgia junior wide receiver Jackson Meeks.