Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Syracuse Football- It's All In the Recruiting--Seal









Syracuse head football coach Greg Robinson has very little job security after nearly three years on the job. During his tenure, the Orange have had an abysmal overall record of 7 wins and 24 losses. The Orange have had an even worse record within the Big East Conference with 2 wins and 15 losses. The way Robinson can get this program to win can be summed up in one word: recruiting. A good class of incoming football players can get fans and current players excited about upcoming seasons. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any college football program, and recently the Orange have been bleeding to death.

It would be ridiculous to expect Coach Robinson to sign a tremendous collection of players when Syracuse lacks the recent winning tradition to attract a top-ranked recruiting class. Coach Robinson, however, needs to take baby steps towards signing a top ranked class in the future. He could first start the Syracuse recruiting process by protecting the Orange’s home state of New York. Over the past few years, top recruits have been signed out of New York by multiple rival schools.

You may argue that Syracuse does not have the ability to keep top recruits from signing with tradition-rich football schools like Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State; but schools such as Pittsburgh, Maryland, Rutgers, Boston College, North Carolina, and Michigan State have been able to sign football prospects out from under Coach Robinson’s nose.

Over the past two years there have been between 13-15 top football prospects to come out of New York, according to professional recruiting websites such as Scout.com and Rivals.com. Of these prospects, less than half stayed in their home state of New York. If Robinson could sign the majority of these prospects, they could form a foundation on which to build a winning Syracuse program. It won’t be easy, but it is a reasonable goal to help the Orange climb back up to college football respectability.

According to recruiting sites, there are 7 or 8 good high school football prospects coming out of New York this year. If coach Robinson can sign 5 of them, he will have a solid recruiting class to infuse into the Syracuse football program.

These are some of the top New York state prospects Coach Robinson should target in upcoming recruiting class:

Averin Collier- Churchville, New York: Collier is a running back who has tremendous lower body strength and is known for his vision and balance. Collier could be a lost cause because he has a brother who already plays for the Pittsburgh Panthers, but perhaps he can be convinced to go to a school where he can create his own identity.

Marcus Sales- Syracuse, New York: Sales is a must-have for Robinson because he plays in Syracuse. There is no excuse to let a recruit leave your own backyard. Sales is a big, fast wide receiver who can stretch the field and is always a threat to score.

Scott Vallone- Islip, New York: Vallone has already verbally committed to Rutgers, but many recruits have changed their minds in the past. Vallone is a defensive lineman who has a quick burst and can get off the ball quickly to cause havoc in the offensive backfield.

Latavius Murray- Nedrow, New York: Justin Udo has already discussed Murray on this blogsite. Murray plays running back in high school, but he is big enough (6’4”) to become a linebacker at the college level.

Khalif Staten- Brooklyn, New York: Staten is a tall wide receiver (6’3”) who could be a tremendous endzone threat because he can out-jump defenders for the ball.

DeAndre Preaster- Utica, New York: Preaster is a tremendous athlete with ideal size and speed to play in the offensive or defensive backfield. He doesn’t play a particular position and has enough versatility that the Orange can use him wherever they need help.

Devon Watkis- Middle Island, New York: Watkins is a gigantic (6’8”) offensive lineman. He would add much-needed beef to the Syracuse line. His size would help him open up running lanes while his long arms would help push away defenders during pass protection. Watkins is another prospect who has given a verbal commitment to Rutgers, but as I said before, recruits sometimes change their minds.

Coach Robinson, however, cannot simply look at gathering homegrown prospects for 2008. He must keep up with future New York prospects as well. The following are players who will be football recruits in 2009. Staying in communication with them is a must in order for Syracuse to secure a good recruiting class in the future:

Andre Civil- Brooklyn, New York: Civil is a tall defensive end who could eventually provide a much-needed pass rush for the Syracuse defense. Coaches should stay in constant contact with this guy because he’s a top prospect in the nation and since he plays right across the Hudson River from New Jersey, Rutgers is hot on his trail.

Shayne Skov- Pawling, New York: Skov is probably going to play defensive back in college, but he’s big enough at 6’2” to put on some weight and become an athletic linebacker that the Orange so desperately need. Alas, Skov may feel homesick for his birthplace of San Francisco because he’s already verbally committed to Stanford.

Tommy Pizzurro- New Rochelle, New York: If there is one area critics of the Syracuse football team have been harping on this year it’s the offensive line. Current quarterback Andrew Robinson has been hit far too many times this year. Signing Pizzurro would be a step in the right direction for the Orange to solidify the offensive line.

Recruiting only in New York will not turn the Syracuse Orange into a football powerhouse, but it’s a place to start. If the Syracuse coaching staff can effectively seal off the state of New York from out of state college recruiters, then maybe they can begin to rebuild the Orange back into a nationally respected football team.



2 comments:

Taisha Walker said...

Brad- I'm am not a sports fan but I did find the blog interesting because you stated the problem and then gave a sloution. ie. a fantasy team if you will.

For the opening paragragh I don't know what you mean when you say "The way Robinson can get this {program to win...}" What's the program the team?

Your links were good, I was able to find stats on each of your fantasy players.

I also thought the ending paragraph had weird verbage in my opinion.

..... Other than those minor changes I felt you story was engaging.

Recruit said...

I graduated from nottingham high school in 2004. Mike Hart was the talk of the city and the state but he played against no competition.Infact he played for onondaga high who play in class c or D. The lowest classes you can play in. When mike attended public high school he was third string but yet when he played for onondaga he was a superstar. That year there where about 3 runningbacks who where extremly better than mike Hart in the city of syracuse as far as talent. All Im saying is look for talent there is more than enough at corchran and Henniger high. Yea stats mean something but actually look who your prospects are playing against. I cant say much for nottingham and fowler high cuz they suck. Another school you might wanna look at is CBA they have an abundance of talent due to the fact they go out there way to get players. In the state of Mass look at a school called brockton. they are loaded with talent also. Another prospect you might wanna look at is Bridgewater high's Kevin Bumpus. A Struggling quarterback but has extreme potential for the Next level. Another outstanding player for Bridgewater is John Dunmore a former resident of syracuse. Infact he lead the sherman park bulldogs to a national championship a few years back. Although Bridgewater did not have a good season believe me when I tell you it is the coaching at Bridgewater high. They dont know a good thing when they have it. John Dunmore is the first cousin of Sidney Rice who currently plays for the Vikings. He practices with his cousin during the off season. Although Dunmore needs to tighten up on some of his skills he definetly would be a great asset to the orange. last but not least Salisbury high school in Salisbury, NC have what the orange really need. Talent. lol. seriously though the New coach needs to recruit in small towns that have talent. Syracuse rings bells to the little country kids. Amazingly they still have respect for the orange even though the last 4 years have been....... Horrible. If the coach does what I have suggested the orange will be National threats in the next 3 to 4 years.