2025 Strategy Shift? | Page 7 | Syracusefan.com

2025 Strategy Shift?

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 don’t know what’s so hard to understand! They went in hard in the portal last year because they revamped the entire roster. They don’t have the roster spots available…..

No place for people to go here
 
I don’t know what’s so hard to understand! They went in hard in the portal last year because they revamped the entire roster. They don’t have the roster spots available…..

No place for people to go here
We’ve also missed out on several portal guys we wanted and we were the ones that brought in 36 HS commits. On paper this class stacks up the same as most classes over the last 20 years. Even those with the brightest outlook have to admit it’s a step down from last year and barely any of those kids contributed this season. I get it we’re focusing on player development from HS recruiting,but if you’re objective , even Clemson who brought in top 10 - 15 classes for a decade + ended up back sliding and falling off with this approach and they had some of the most talented recruiting classes in the country year after year. If you think we’re going to easily replace some of the monster contributors from last season through player development…well you may want to tamp down expectations a little.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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%.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
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!!!
 

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