Acosta now helping to recruit Florida | Syracusefan.com

Acosta now helping to recruit Florida

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https://syracuse./barrier_noentry.asp?sid=937&script=/content.asp&cid=1758694


April 19, 2015

Coach Acosta has Syracuse primed for breakout recruiting cycle
Scott Brown




In February of 2014, then wide receiver coach Rob Moore left the Syracuse coaching staff to join the Buffalo Bills under former Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone. With the opening at wide receiver, Syracuse moved then tight end coach George McDonald into the vacancy creating a void at the tight end position. After a few short days, little known Bobby Acosta, who had previously coached at Division III Widener, was brought in to fill the spot. At the time, not many people knew what to expect of Coach Acosta, but knew that he was bringing with him relationships and ties to one of the biggest "hot beds" in the northeast for high school football, New Jersey.

At the time, arguments for and against the hire were voiced. On one side, people suggested that Head Coach Scott Shafer missed on another opportunity to make a splash with an assistant coach, opting to bring in someone with no Division I experience and limited college coaching experience. However, on the flip side of the coin, it was hard to ignore the possibility of re-establishing a pipeline into New Jersey, an area that had been forgotten recently by the Orange.

During the program's successful run throughout the 1980s and 1990s, New Jersey was always a stop on the recruiting trail for the Syracuse coaching staff. With the firing of Paul Pasquoloni after the 2004 season, Syracuse seemed to lose any and all contact within the state of New Jersey, opting for a different recruiting strategy that involved a little bit of everything, and a whole lot of nothing.

Fast forward to the present day and Coach Acosta is now coaching the wide receivers and has the Syracuse football program primed to start pulling in some of the best talent from the state of New Jersey. Listening to how recruits respond, they all highly regard coach Acosta and value the relationship that he builds with them. In the last recruiting class, he was able to persuade one of the best New Jersey talents, Dontae Strickland, to skip on in-home Rutgers to come to Syracuse. Lightning almost struck twice with the commitment of Daiquan Kelly, only to see him de-commit and pledge to his dream school Penn State. In a short period of time, he has had his hand in landing Strickland, highly touted Daivon Ellison (NJ), flipping Jake Pickard from Wisconsin (NJ), bringing in offensive lineman Kenny Carter (NJ), and New York natives, Tyrone Perkins and Jordan Fredericks. So far in the class of 2016, he helped to land wide receiver Sadiq Palmer (NJ).

Palmer might become one of the most important recruits for the Orange in 2016, as he has vowed to help Syracuse recruit other New Jersey athletes to call the Dome their home. Right now, Syracuse is highly regarded in the eyes of many of New Jersey's finest high school football players. Quarterback Anthony Brown (and friend of Palmer) has been declared quarterback recruiting target number one by the coaching staff and Brown loves the Orange. He is set to announce a commitment in May, and many people have Syracuse as a favorite to hear their name called. Other highly rated players out of New Jersey who have high interest in Syracuse include two-star running back Tyler Thompson, four-star wide receiver Hasise DuBois, four-star offensive lineman Will Fries, three-star athlete Emmanuel Appiah, three-star linebacker Tyreek Williams, two-star defensive end Sal Mauro, offensive lineman Thomas Lopez, and a bunch of wide receivers including three-star Kelvin Harmon, two-star Donald Stewart, three-star KJ Gray, two-star Noah Ellison, Gene Coleman, and Kolton Huber. Plus a handful of other New Jersey players who are waiting on a scholarship offer from Syracuse.

That is a long list of names that could change the face of the program for years to come. If that isn't enough, Coach Acosta just started to become one of the primary Florida recruiters sharing the duties with newly hired coach, Jake Moreland. The two hope to create the same type of hype in Florida for Syracuse that is happening right now in New Jersey, and it may have already started. Back in March, Syracuse offered three-star defensive back Brandon Shuman who has hinted that Syracuse could be on a short list of colleges who he could commit to after the spring.

Overall, on the recruiting trail, if certain dominoes start to fall, it would come to no surprise if Syracuse were to jump up the recruiting charts this season. The 2016 class has already started out strong with the verbal commitment from three-star offensive lineman Cam DeGeorge and the aforementioned Sadiq Palmer. Syracuse could be getting one of the best players the program has pursued in the past fifteen years if uber recruit Robert Washington were to choose Syracuse over TCU, UNC, Alabama, Michigan, and Florida. Throw in a few of these Jersey boys Coach Acosta has been recruiting and Syracuse could be primed for a huge 2016 recruiting class.
 
Hope he doesn't get stretched to thin. Need another coach to step up in a region.
 
Great salesman. So was MacDonald......can Acosta be a better coach than MacD? One thing to get them another to coach them up to your system. Jury is still out.
 
Great salesman. So was MacDonald...can Acosta be a better coach than MacD? One thing to get them another to coach them up to your system. Jury is still out.

Comparing Acosta to McDonald, Acosta wins hands down. I don't think McDonald delivered what we expected.
 
Great salesman. So was MacDonald...can Acosta be a better coach than MacD? One thing to get them another to coach them up to your system. Jury is still out.

Big, big difference. Acosta is a position coach - and a position coach at a position that is known for recruiting whizzes.

McDonald was the offensive coordinator. He should never have been one of the prime recruiters to begin with, IMO.
 
Big, big difference. Acosta is a position coach - and a position coach at a position that is known for recruiting whizzes.

McDonald was the offensive coordinator. He should never have been one of the prime recruiters to begin with, IMO.
I think one could argue that McDonald should never have been an O.C..
 
Comparing Acosta to McDonald, Acosta wins hands down. I don't think McDonald delivered what we expected.

Totally agree. Definitely not implying you, but it's funny how many people agree with this now, yet last year when I was saying this it was like I was committing treason.
 
anomander said:
Totally agree. Definitely not implying you, but it's funny how many people agree with this now, yet last year when I was saying this it was like I was committing treason.

When he's our guy - defend. NC State? Not so much ;)
 
Totally agree. Definitely not implying you, but it's funny how many people agree with this now, yet last year when I was saying this it was like I was committing treason.

I'm one of the implied. Stance hasn't changed. Still disagree with the assessment that he wasn't a good recruiter. The negative comments/opinions last year about him, his recruiting efforts, the landscape of recruiting in So. Fla. and our past efforts and future abilities to recruit in So. Fla. weren't treasonous they just weren't accurate imo.

I posted plenty of information/argument and data to support my position at the time. All of it is still available on this forum so I'm not gonna rehash the same.

I am not sure what the expectations of some fans were in the short time he was here in order that he fell short of those expectations. I do know there is gonna be many of those Fla. guys on the 2-deep this Fall. I guess we'll get to see just how good they are on the field on a consistent basis versus highlight videos/stars/camp performances and we can revisit this again.

One thing that has already begun to play out is we aren't a player in So. Florida like we were the last few cycles. That is becoming self-evident. Imo, Bobby Acosta, for all his worth in Jersey and his acumen in the recruiting game, isn't going to change that soon and that isn't a slight on him.
 
Comparing Acosta to McDonald, Acosta wins hands down. I don't think McDonald delivered what we expected.

Acosta hasn't had a player suit up and play yet so it may be a little premature for this assessment. Love Acosta's energy and contacts in Jersey and am hopeful he is that guy but a little early to tell for me.

I actually think the two of them are very similar in their approaches to recruiting just have roots in different areas.
 
Acosta hasn't had a player suit up and play yet so it may be a little premature for this assessment. Love Acosta's energy and contacts in Jersey and am hopeful he is that guy but a little early to tell for me.

I actually think the two of them are very similar in their approaches to recruiting just have roots in different areas.

fair point, but I would argue that Acosta has delivered us the state of New Jersey. We haven't had a haul like that from NJ in how many years? And this year, the trend looks to continue if we can pull Brown and a couple other guys.
 
I'm one of the implied. Stance hasn't changed. Still disagree with the assessment that he wasn't a good recruiter. The negative comments/opinions last year about him, his recruiting efforts, the landscape of recruiting in So. Fla. and our past efforts and future abilities to recruit in So. Fla. weren't treasonous they just weren't accurate imo.

I posted plenty of information/argument and data to support my position at the time. All of it is still available on this forum so I'm not gonna rehash the same.

I am not sure what the expectations of some fans were in the short time he was here in order that he fell short of those expectations. I do know there is gonna be many of those Fla. guys on the 2-deep this Fall. I guess we'll get to see just how good they are on the field on a consistent basis versus highlight videos/stars/camp performances and we can revisit this again.

One thing that has already begun to play out is we aren't a player in So. Florida like we were the last few cycles. That is becoming self-evident. Imo, Bobby Acosta, for all his worth in Jersey and his acumen in the recruiting game, isn't going to change that soon and that isn't a slight on him.

I know there have been articles saying that we will remain in South Florida, but I have been saying all along that other then a few here and there are presence in the area will drastically decrease, but that is intended, not because we are missing McDonald. Another interesting thing about McDonald was apparently he gave the impression that some of his recruits were in much better academic standing then they actually were. Totally self-serving.

I still don't see who he brought in, other then Ishmael, that we weren't getting before? Last cycle he brought in Byrne, and Clausman, neither had any other offers. Were they really that great of a recruiting effort? Was it better then what Shafer was pulling when he was recruiting the area? I just don't see the difference? 2014 was better, but I just didn't see it as a huge upgrade.
 
I think in recruiting, and life in general, you have to play to your strenghts. McDonald's strength in recruiting was Florida. Acosta's looks to be NJ. Personally I think he should stay focused on the tri state area and assign someone else to FL to maximize your output. NJ is a state full of talent year in and year out and is in our backyard. Continue to build the relationships there. If we are pulling 3 star and better talent out of there players like Pickard, Ellison, Strickland, Brown etc on a regular basis I think you can see this program really advance. I would not want to spread Acosta to thin and give him FL too.
 
Free Article...
https://syracuse./barrier_noentry.asp?sid=937&script=/content.asp&cid=1770226
May 29, 2015

Syracuse sends out new offers
Scott Brown

CuseConfidential.com



Over the past two weeks Syracuse sent out over thirty new scholarship offers to new prospects, the majority of them are from Florida. The new activity in the Sunshine State could be credited to the appointment of wide receiver Coach Acosta as one of the lead recruiters in South Florida. Acosta, who has begun to open New Jersey as a recruiting pipeline to Syracuse is hoping to do the same thing in Florida. In the 2016 cycle, New Jersey and Florida are the two states with players that Syracuse has extended the most scholarships offers too.

Coach Acosta has done a great job in his short time on the Syracuse staff developing relationships with numerous coaches in New Jersey. Over this past evaluation period, Coach Acosta spent a lot of his time in Florida trying to do the same thing there. With his feet back in Syracuse, and the evaluations presented to the coaching staff, Syracuse went to work sending out offers to members of the 2016, 2017, and 2018 classes.


2016 class:

QB Desmond Phillips, 2-Star, Miami (FL) Jackson, 5-foot-11, 170 pounds - Toledo Commit

LB Devin Miller, 2-star, Sugar Hill (GA) Lanier, 6-foot, 195 pounds

LB Emmanuel Belmar Jr., 3-star, Suwanee (GA) Collins Hill, 6-foot-2, 220 pounds

WR Michael Irvin, 3-star, Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds

LB Hosea McMullen, 2-star, Hialeah Gardens (FL) Champagnat Catholic, 6-foot-1, 220 pounds - Buffalo Commit

S Amir Tyler, NR, Lakewood (NJ) Lakewood, 6-foot, 195 pounds

DE Noel Brouse, NR, Allentown (PA) Parkland Senior, 6-foot-5, 260 pounds

DE Charles Callender, 3-star, Miami (FL) Gulliver Prep, 6-foot-2, 225 pounds

DE Joshua Uche, 3-star, Miami (FL) Columbus, 6-foot-1, 217 pounds - Miami Commit

DT Adam Korutz, NR, Johnson City (NY) Johnson City, 6-foot-3, 270 pounds

CB Monquavion Brinson, 3-star, Atlanta (GA) Mays, 5-foot-11, 163 pounds

CB Antoine Webster, 3-start, Hialeah (FL) American, 5-foot-11, 170 pounds - FAU Commit

LB Shemar Smith, 2-star, Miami (FL) Jackson, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds - FAU Commit

OL Keldric Cesar, 3-star, Miami (FL) Edison, 6-foot-3, 291 pounds

TE Sidney Mims, NR, Montgomery (AL) Montgomery Academy, 6-foot-5, 245 pounds

LB Tobias Little, 3-star, Atlanta (GA) Mays, 6-foot, 236 pounds

DE Rashaad Weaver, 2-star, Cooper City (FL) Cooper City, 6-foot-5, 245 pounds

DE Terrell Lucas Jr., 3-star, Miramar (FL) Miramar, 6-foot-4, 231 pounds

RB Asim "AJ" Rose, 3-star, Garfield Heights (OH) Garfield Heights, 6-foot-1, 191 pounds

RB Connell Young, NR, Greensboro (NC) Dudley, 6-foot-1, 192 pounds

DE Brandon Simon, 3-star, Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco, 6-foot-1, 236 pounds

ATH Anthony Julmisse, 3-star, Plantation (FL) South Plantation, 6-foot, 180 pounds

OL Johncarlo Valentin, 4-star, Philadelphia (PA) Imhotep Inst Charter School, 6-foot-4, 330 pounds


2017 Class:

WR Michael Harley Jr., NR, Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas, 5-foot-10, 150 pounds

WR Trevon Grimes, 5-star, Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas, 6-foot-4, 193 pounds

ATH Ayinde Eley, 3-star, Olney (MD) Good Counsel, 6-foot-5, 205 pounds

LB Jordan Anthony, 4-star, Olney (MD) Good Counsel, 6-foot-1, 215 pounds

ATH Daewood Davis, NR, Fort Lauderdale (FL) Somerset, 6-foot-2, 176 pounds

DB Tyshon Fogg, NR, Towson (MD) Calvert Hall, 6-foot-2, 215 pounds

OL Cody Bowes, 3-star, Miami (FL) Gulliver Prep, 6-foot-3, 268 pounds


2018 Class:

WR Kevin Austin, NR, Davie (FL) Western, 6-foot-3, 185 pounds

WR Elijah Moore, NR, Davie (FL) Western, 5-foot-9, 157 pounds

DB Asante Samuel Jr., NR, Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas, 5-foot-10, 163 pounds

DB Benjamin Sapp, NR, Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas, 5-foot-10, 160 pounds
 

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