Syracuse Football: Top analyst says 2024 class most talented he’s seen at ‘Cuse

A top recruiting analyst is high on the Syracuse football 2024 class.

On Wednesday, at the onset of the early signing period, the Orange landed signed commitments from 24 players, including 18 high school seniors and six transfers.

Among these ‘Cuse signees, numerous are rated four stars by recruiting services, both at the high school level and via the transfer portal. You can check out who signed with Syracuse football on National Signing Day by reading my recent column here.

This inaugural class for head coach Fran Brown and his assistants proved a big-time recruiting win, especially considering that the new Orange coaching staff only came on board in recent weeks, following the dismissal of previous head coach Dino Babers.

A top analyst showered the Syracuse football 2024 cycle with praise.

Not too long ago, Rivals.com national analyst John Garcia Jr., one of the best in the business, discussed the Orange’s 2024 class on The Juice on the Cuse Podcast.

Garcia said in part, “I think when you consider the portal additions combined with the prep additions, it’s got to be yes with the influx of talent that's going to come in. I think this is the most talented group that I've seen SU bring in.”

I’m a homer, but I agree with Garcia’s assessment. In a short period of time, Brown and his staff reaffirmed commitments from various high-school prospects who had verbally committed to Babers and his staff.

Brown & Co. also scored several “new” pledges from 2024 players since taking the helm of the ‘Cuse program. And Syracuse football coaches signed a half-dozen talented transfers.

Given that Brown and several of his assistants hail from New Jersey, their 2024 cycle includes a boatload of signees who come from the Garden State, along with New York and a few other geographic areas.

A lot of the Orange’s commits at the high school level are ranked three stars by recruiting services, but some of them are “high” three stars. As recruiting Web sites provide updates on their 2024 national rankings in the future, we could see some three-star pledges turn into four stars.

Those Syracuse football commits who are four stars, according to at least one recruiting service, include edge KingJoseph Edwards of Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Ga., wide receiver Emanuel Ross of Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, N.J., running back Yasin Willis of Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J., and tight end/wide receiver Jamie Tremble of The Wesleyan School in Peachtree Corners, Ga.

Tremble, as I’ve noted in other recent columns, is the currently the highest-rated commit for Syracuse football among high school seniors. He recently vaulted into the top 200 nationally, per 247Sports.

As far as the transfer additions go, Georgia freshman wide receiver Yazeed Haynes, Texas A&M junior defensive lineman Fadil Diggs and Ohio State junior quarterback Kyle McCord are four stars in national transfer rankings.

McCord, a former five-star recruit in prep school, is deemed one of the top quarterbacks across the country who was in the portal. The same goes for Diggs at edge.

Buffalo sophomore safety Devin Grant, West Virginia freshman linebacker James Heard Jr. and Georgia junior wide receiver Jackson Meeks, the other three who are transferring to the ‘Cuse, are rated three stars in national transfer rankings.

Both Heard and Grant, by the way, were four stars in high school, according to some recruiting Web sites.

When I wrote this article on Friday night, the Syracuse football 2024 high-school senior class was hovering around the top 50 nationally, per both the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and Rivals.com.

Considering where ‘Cuse classes were on a national scale in 2023 and other recent cycles, Brown and his staff did a darn good job with their inaugural class.