2025 Strategy Shift?

[vegasnick]

Ok coach, you know best! Last Year the recruiting class ranked at 37, this year it ranks at 38. To put into perspective 2023 was 88th. These are the BEST two recruiting classes since they started ranking them and its not even close. Not really sure how "on paper this class stacks up the same as most classes over the last 20 years". It CLEARLY DOESN'T!

You say kids didn't contribute- that too is inaccurate. Watson was our BEST DT. Willis Contributed, Kerr ended up starting over Marcellus Barnes, not too mention the other guys who played both as reserves and special teams. ALL getting experience to further compete next season!

No one ever said "easily replace". What I've been saying is the way they want to replace is by the recruits they already have on the roster. There is NOTHING easy about all the off season workouts and practices they've already been through and are going to go through. Again- Jackson Meeks was on record saying " The work at Syracuse is far harder than UGA"

Just because you think they have to go into the portal to be good, I'm sorry to burst your bubble. AGAIN the staff has earned the respect to trust their process until further proven wrong. Maybe you should tame down your statement when they are opinion and not fact.

 

[anomander]

Dude with all due respect about the CNY attitude. Holy holier than though BS. You and Arizona can kiss my CNY ass. I live in central NY, I buy seasons, I donate and I along with tons of others have positive attitudes about the city, some of the changes happening in the area and big time support SU as fans. So give the "most CNY crap " an effin rest, it's a bit stale.
We are all fans in this board community. I

That’s makes it even more ridiculous talking crap about Syracuse and not even living here.

 

[anomander]

Ok coach, you know best! Last Year the recruiting class ranked at 37, this year it ranks at 38. To put into perspective 2023 was 88th. These are the BEST two recruiting classes since they started ranking them and its not even close. Not really sure how "on paper this class stacks up the same as most classes over the last 20 years". It CLEARLY DOESN'T!

You say kids didn't contribute- that too is inaccurate. Watson was our BEST DT. Willis Contributed, Kerr ended up starting over Marcellus Barnes, not too mention the other guys who played both as reserves and special teams. ALL getting experience to further compete next season!

No one ever said "easily replace". What I've been saying is the way they want to replace is by the recruits they already have on the roster. There is NOTHING easy about all the off season workouts and practices they've already been through and are going to go through. Again- Jackson Meeks was on record saying " The work at Syracuse is far harder than UGA"

Just because you think they have to go into the portal to be good, I'm sorry to burst your bubble. AGAIN the staff has earned the respect to trust their process until further proven wrong. Maybe you should tame down your statement when they are opinion and not fact.

You seem to be talking in fact? I’m just pointing out numbers. You’re also off with those. We’re 53rd overall in recruiting with 43 total commits (HS + portal). 74th in portal and 38th in HS with 36 commits.

You also named 1 true freshman that played regularly, Watson, and a couple that played complimentarily (Willis + Kerr).

 

[bnoro]

Lmao. Whoa, I thought the Kool-aide I drank was Orange, give me some of what you’re drinking. I appreciate the optimism but there was nothing their post that was completely out of bounds.

1.) The staff may high on JW but he’s never taken a snap of College ball and didn’t crack the depth chart last year. Throwing him into the fire against a stacked schedule is… tough. Lots of growing pains. Then there’s Rickie. Is he good? Maybe. No clue. But banking off an SEC transfer with a strong high school pedigree, hasn’t exactly worked out for us recently. Carney is a true freshman. Either way, curbing expectations is extremely justified.

2.) WR depth is good. No clue if Zeed is actually going to play for SU again… but still good squad.

3.) Down playing losing OG in any way, shape, or form, is wild. Good blocker, not a good blocker, whatever. Huge loss. Can Tremble fill those choose? Lofty expectations. I’m more relaxed about this because I’m high on Villari, if he’s healthy.

4.) Willis will be fine.

5.) Defense as a whole got dogged a lot this year and we lost a lot of talent. Don’t agree the CB room is somehow stronger now than it was last year? I’d be interested to see what mental gymnastics you did to land there. KJE should be a good one. He flashed. Hopefully he can gain weight and be an every down player. Banking on a freshman LB to step in a lead the defense is tough, despite being physically ready.

6.) I disagree we’re 2-3 transfers away from being great.

I think we’re going to be a young team, who is above average, with a very difficult schedule. I think Bnoro is pretty spot on. I will watch 2025 and support the boys but look to 2026 with excitement. I hope I’m wrong but with how great Fran is building and recruiting, this cycle has been strange.

Lol @ ripping on all the other players on the team but saying you're high on Villari, one of the worst players on our roster.

 

[vegasnick]

You seem to be talking in fact? I’m just pointing out numbers. You’re also off with those. We’re 53rd overall in recruiting with 43 total commits (HS + portal). 74th in portal and 38th in HS with 36 commits.

You also named 1 true freshman that played regularly, Watson, and a couple that played complimentarily (Willis + Kerr).

The 37, 38 and 88 were all high school recruiting. Can you follow a conversation, seriously? You’ve been complaining because they’re not active in the portal and I’ve been telling you why they aren’t- but sure use their portal grade! That’s special thinking, to say the least! The more you reply the less educated you sound about this situation.

 

[anomander]

The 37, 38 and 88 were all high school recruiting. Can you follow a conversation, seriously? You’ve been complaining because they’re not active in the portal and I’ve been telling you why they aren’t- but sure use their portal grade! That’s special thinking, to say the least! The more you reply the less educated you sound about this situation.

I’m not complaining because they aren’t active in the portal. I’ve said it countless times that I understand they won’t be because Fran said it himself. I’m not saying I agree with that, but we’ll find out. However, he still brought in 7 transfers so far and maybe 1 of them looks like a quality pick up. I’m also saying that your expectations seem a little bit out of control based on next years schedule, what we lost, and what they’ve been replaced in. It’s actually pretty simple to understand if you want to.

 

[vegasnick]

I’m not complaining because they aren’t active in the portal. I’ve said it countless times that I understand they won’t be because Fran said it himself. I’m not saying I agree with that, but we’ll find out. However, he still brought in 7 transfers so far and maybe 1 of them looks like a quality pick up. I’m also saying that your expectations seem a little bit out of control based on next years schedule, what we lost, and what they’ve been replaced in. It’s actually pretty simple to understand if you want to.

We can agree to disagree- that is clearly not what you said. But we can end it there.

In FRAN WE TRUST!

 

[bnoro]

You seem to be talking in fact? I’m just pointing out numbers. You’re also off with those. We’re 53rd overall in recruiting with 43 total commits (HS + portal). 74th in portal and 38th in HS with 36 commits.

You also named 1 true freshman that played regularly, Watson, and a couple that played complimentarily (Willis + Kerr).

Who cares what a random website ranks us? You're so hung up on some completely meaningless numbers. They aren't facts, they are someone's opinion.

"74th in portal" means nothing, and it means even less with no context with our roster makeup.

 

[baggerbob]

or were ranked 74th nationally in portal rankings. Second to last in the ACC just ahead of Clemson who notoriously doesn’t utilize the portal. Everyone was all excited last year when we were 23rd. But yea, nothing to see here.

I would think with the 2 Portals the one in the spring will end up having better players entering.
You will have players who have been at the factories for 1 or 2 years who will still be backups, and will want to move on.
It won't be money for those players in the spring, it will be a place where they can start.
That's because they will need to maximize their playing time to get to the next level.
Those players aren't going somewhere where their is stiff competition to start.
Those are the types Fran will be able to reel in because of his reputation for honesty.

 

[Red2003]

For all the people that love the portal rankings!

What was Florida States portal rank last year?

 

[The Viking]

Who cares what a random website ranks us? You're so hung up on some completely meaningless numbers. They aren't facts, they are someone's opinion.

"74th in portal" means nothing, and it means even less with no context with our roster makeup.

I'm trying to get back to bring it back to your original question: Is it a good idea for our coaches to be selective with the portal for now, conserve our limited NIL funds, and trust to our player development? I think that's about right.
If the portal is as thin as the QB pool in the NFL draft, I'd say it's a good idea. Why spend money on a journeyman?
Sure, the schedule is hell next Fall, but HCFB has been open about competing at the highest level. The whole tone of the program is "bring it on." If we aspire to heights, we have to face such challenges yearly. The SEC and BIG have daunting schedules every year.
I would prefer the portal as a tool to plug holes rather than a system judged as a whole like HS recruiting.

 

[USMCSnyper]

IMO, I think next season allows HCFB to see what he really has. It also allows the staff to teach these kids what it takes to be a champion. “You want to be in the playoffs, this is who you play against etc…”

I trust Fran 100%.

 

[bnoro]

I'm trying to get back to bring it back to your original question: Is it a good idea for our coaches to be selective with the portal for now, conserve our limited NIL funds, and trust to our player development? I think that's about right.
If the portal is as thin as the QB pool in the NFL draft, I'd say it's a good idea. Why spend money on a journeyman?
Sure, the schedule is hell next Fall, but HCFB has been open about competing at the highest level. The whole tone of the program is "bring it on." If we aspire to heights, we have to face such challenges yearly. The SEC and BIG have daunting schedules every year.
I would prefer the portal as a tool to plug holes rather than a system judged as a whole like HS recruiting.

I think it's more of a "we like the guys we have" right now, along with our roster being pretty much filled.

We need to develop a QB, as we do not have the NIL to compete in the bidding wars to land the Mensah's of the world. I have full faith that the next guy is on our roster now. Especially with Nixon calling the plays.

 

[qdawgg]

Who cares what a random website ranks us? You're so hung up on some completely meaningless numbers. They aren't facts, they are someone's opinion.

"74th in portal" means nothing, and it means even less with no context with our roster makeup.

And it means nothing when you’re not super active in the portal, as the HC said you wouldn’t be. My god, the ridiculousness on this board sometimes.

Luckily I’m on a Bears reddit page and I’m not sure 90% of Bears fans on there ever played football. Talk about not having a clue about anything.

 

[farnsworth]

Who cares what a random website ranks us? You're so hung up on some completely meaningless numbers. They aren't facts, they are someone's opinion.

"74th in portal" means nothing, and it means even less with no context with our roster makeup.

The whole "recruiting rankings don't matter" is probably the most wildly inaccurate argument that gets repeated on this forum.

They are on average correct but with wild variability for individual players. A single guy who is rated 90 probably only has about a 60% chance of being better than a single guy who is rated 85. But if you repeat that over 20-25 players per year for 4 years, there is a 100% chance that a roster full of 90's is a better team than a roster full of 85's. Literally 100%.

Here are the class rankings the last 4 years for the teams that made the final 4 of the CFP:
OSU 5, 4, 4, 2
ND 9, 12, 7, 9
Texas 6, 3, 5, 15
PSU 15, 14, 6, 21

Other teams of note:
Oregon 3, 9, 13, 4
UGA 1, 2, 3, 6

If you are not bringing in top 10-15 classes every year you can absolutely forget competing for a national title. Pointing to one guy where the rankings didn't pan out is a complete misunderstanding of statistics -- it's like saying Vegas has no idea what they are doing because they got the line wrong for one game. Ok, then try betting against Vegas 80 more times and see how it works out.

 

[anomander]

Who cares what a random website ranks us? You're so hung up on some completely meaningless numbers. They aren't facts, they are someone's opinion.

"74th in portal" means nothing, and it means even less with no context with our roster makeup.

Ok, i’ll go with the same schools who consistently have top 20 classes. You can have our recruiting classes over the last 20 years and let’s see which programs turn out better. You make it seem that our poor recruiting ranking the last 15 years is unjustified because some recruiting website is out to get us. I don’t see how they’ve been wrong? Until this past season where we brought in a ton of studs through the portal and happened to have a game changing TE on the roster , i don’t see how they’ve been so wrong?

 

[anomander]

The whole "recruiting rankings don't matter" is probably the most wildly inaccurate argument that gets repeated on this forum.

They are on average correct but with wild variability for individual players. A single guy who is rated 90 probably only has about a 60% chance of being better than a single guy who is rated 85. But if you repeat that over 20-25 players per year for 4 years, there is a 100% chance that a roster full of 90's is a better team than a roster full of 85's. Literally 100%.

Here are the class rankings the last 4 years for the teams that made the final 4 of the CFP:
OSU 5, 4, 4, 2
ND 9, 12, 7, 9
Texas 6, 3, 5, 15
PSU 15, 14, 6, 21

Other teams of note:
Oregon 3, 9, 13, 4
UGA 1, 2, 3, 6

If you are not bringing in top 10-15 classes every year you can absolutely forget competing for a national title. Pointing to one guy where the rankings didn't pan out is a complete misunderstanding of statistics -- it's like saying Vegas has no idea what they are doing because they got the line wrong for one game. Ok, then try betting against Vegas 80 more times

Those recruiting rankings for the playoff teams are anything but shocking!!!

 

[kcsu]

Fran is on record with the following.
Wants to build via the HS ranks
Will take portal players but wants more than one year out of them.
Has a huge incoming class and a huge number of guys that are coming back.
There are not very many open spots.
The staff fills good about replacing most of our attrition with current players.
We landed the QB we wanted.
We will most likely add a few more kids before the fall.
I believe that Fran is executing his plan.

 

[Idiocuse22&]

Had this conversation with friends this weekend and it makes A TON of sense. I'll also caveat this with THERE IS NO INSIDE INFO HERE. This is purely opinion.

We currently have 33 commits for 2025, and are still recruiting a few others. Provided they all sign on signing day, there will be some guys getting "the talk" in the offseason. My guess is the majority of those will be junior and senior players.

I don't believe we are punting on the 2025 season, however, we are playing Tennessee, Clemson, @ND, @Miami, @GT, @SMU. The odds of us having a 8 win season are SLIGHT, but I think we should be able to make a bowl. A tough schedule will pressure test players and hopefully let the cream rise to the top.

In my mind, what the plan is for next year is
- Bank as much NIL money as possible for 2026/27, while bringing in as many HS players as possible. The more kids you bring in, the better chances you have of hitting on some legitimate stars.
- Bring in transfers that have AT LEAST two or three seasons of eligibility remaining
- Give kids that aren't good enough "the talk"
- Get enough game tape from Jakhari/Prospective Transfer to see if one of them is "the guy" at QB

Then, you can go into 2026 with playoff aspirations.

I believe Fran is too competitive to completely punt, but I think at a school with limited resources you have to be as resourceful as possible. Thoughts? Is this crazy?

I don't disagree with that at all, our schedule on paper prior to the season will never be tougher.

However, this is perfect "bulletin" board material!
We are going undefeated!
National Champs!

 

[anomander]

For all the people that love the portal rankings!

What was Florida States portal rank last year?

McCord - 2nd team ACC
Meeks - 2nd team ACC
Lewis - 3rd team ACC
Saivon Washington - Honorable mention
Diggs - Honorable mention

Let’s not act like they weren’t a huge factor in our success this season.

 

[swish7]

Had this conversation with friends this weekend and it makes A TON of sense. I'll also caveat this with THERE IS NO INSIDE INFO HERE. This is purely opinion.

We currently have 33 commits for 2025, and are still recruiting a few others. Provided they all sign on signing day, there will be some guys getting "the talk" in the offseason. My guess is the majority of those will be junior and senior players.

I don't believe we are punting on the 2025 season, however, we are playing Tennessee, Clemson, @ND, @Miami, @GT, @SMU. The odds of us having a 8 win season are SLIGHT, but I think we should be able to make a bowl. A tough schedule will pressure test players and hopefully let the cream rise to the top.

In my mind, what the plan is for next year is
- Bank as much NIL money as possible for 2026/27, while bringing in as many HS players as possible. The more kids you bring in, the better chances you have of hitting on some legitimate stars.
- Bring in transfers that have AT LEAST two or three seasons of eligibility remaining
- Give kids that aren't good enough "the talk"
- Get enough game tape from Jakhari/Prospective Transfer to see if one of them is "the guy" at QB

Then, you can go into 2026 with playoff aspirations.

I believe Fran is too competitive to completely punt, but I think at a school with limited resources you have to be as resourceful as possible. Thoughts? Is this crazy?

I do not think you can be successful at all without actively trying to do as much as possible to win every game every season. I think it would go against Frans mentality too.

Banking anything for the future doesn't seem right to me, but maybe it's a good strategy

 

[vegasnick]

McCord - 2nd team ACC
Meeks - 2nd team ACC
Lewis - 3rd team ACC
Saivon Washington - Honorable mention
Diggs - Honorable mention

Let’s not act like they weren’t a huge factor in our success this season.

Bookmark this and let’s see what kind of turnout we get on the ACC teams next season.

 

[vegasnick]

McCord - 2nd team ACC
Meeks - 2nd team ACC
Lewis - 3rd team ACC
Saivon Washington - Honorable mention
Diggs - Honorable mention

Let’s not act like they weren’t a huge factor in our success this season.

Nobody said they aren’t losing players who were valuable- what you’re not understanding is, Fran and the staff feel like they have the pieces necessary and capable to replace them without having to rely on the portal.

You have an obsession that the only way to be good is by adding “studs” from the portal.

 

[vegasnick]

The whole "recruiting rankings don't matter" is probably the most wildly inaccurate argument that gets repeated on this forum.

They are on average correct but with wild variability for individual players. A single guy who is rated 90 probably only has about a 60% chance of being better than a single guy who is rated 85. But if you repeat that over 20-25 players per year for 4 years, there is a 100% chance that a roster full of 90's is a better team than a roster full of 85's. Literally 100%.

Here are the class rankings the last 4 years for the teams that made the final 4 of the CFP:
OSU 5, 4, 4, 2
ND 9, 12, 7, 9
Texas 6, 3, 5, 15
PSU 15, 14, 6, 21

Other teams of note:
Oregon 3, 9, 13, 4
UGA 1, 2, 3, 6

If you are not bringing in top 10-15 classes every year you can absolutely forget competing for a national title. Pointing to one guy where the rankings didn't pan out is a complete misunderstanding of statistics -- it's like saying Vegas has no idea what they are doing because they got the line wrong for one game. Ok, then try betting against Vegas 80 more times and see how it works out.

• A high three-star (87-89): is considered a player with significant NFL upside who expect to be an impact college football player.

Not All Recruiting Stars Are Created Equally

As I was writing other content for the site, I learned something about recruiting ratings and the number of players associated with each rating. Many of you all may already know this information. Some commentators I respect (including Geoff Ketchum) have said this before, but I wanted to...

www.larrythegm.com

For the record in the 2025 Class Syracuse had 13 recruits rank 87 or higher and they had 14 in 2024.

Another reason why they want to develop the talent they have!

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Fran is on record with the following.
Wants to build via the HS ranks
Will take portal players but wants more than one year out of them.
Has a huge incoming class and a huge number of guys that are coming back.
There are not very many open spots.
The staff fills good about replacing most of our attrition with current players.
We landed the QB we wanted.
We will most likely add a few more kids before the fall.
I believe that Fran is executing his plan.

Yes, Fran said he wants portal guys with more than one year BUT will take a one year guy if they have NFL potential.