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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.
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.
