Syracuse Football: West Virginia LB transfer, a former 4-star, top-250 national prospect, to visit

James Heard Jr., a freshman linebacker at Big 12 Conference school West Virginia who is in the NCAA’s transfer portal, will take an official visit to Syracuse football this weekend, according to Rivals.com national analyst Adam Friedman.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Heard, a former four-star prospect in high school per Rivals.com, hails from Camden, N.J., which is also where new Orange head coach Fran Brown and new ‘Cuse defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson also grew up.

According to recruiting services, Heard entered the transfer portal on December 9.

Per media reports, he has taken a redshirt for the 2023 season and should have four years of collegiate eligibility left.

Syracuse football will host West Virginia linebacker James Heard Jr. on an official visit.

As a member of the 2023 recruiting cycle, Rivals.com rated Heard as four stars, No. 240 nationally, No. 15 at weakside defensive end and No. 3 in New Jersey.

Before joining West Virginia, he suited up at Camden High School in Camden. Per the West Virginia athletics department Web site, in his senior year at Camden, he tallied an impressive 38 tackles, 18 sacks and three forced fumbles, while earning various accolades.

His full offer sheet during high school, according to recruiting services, included teams such as Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers, Temple, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Miami.

Given the hometown connections between Heard and the Syracuse football coaching staff, it wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up strongly considering the Orange as a transfer destination.

This weekend is shaping up to prove a massive one for ‘Cuse coaches, who will welcome a number of college transfer targets and high school prospects to the Hill on visits.

On the transfer side of things, beyond Heard, others expected to officially visit the team this weekend include Texas A&M junior defensive lineman Fadil Diggs, Georgia freshman wide receiver Yazeed Haynes, Georgia redshirt sophomore wide receiver and return specialist Mekhi Mews and Florida freshman defensive lineman Will Norman, according to reports and social media posts.

As we’ve discussed many times lately, new Syracuse football head coach Brown most recently was the defensive backs coach at Georgia.

The Orange’s new defensive coordinator, Robinson, is currently the interim head coach and co-defensive coordinator at Texas A&M.