RF2044
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I understand if some are disappointed.
We have been in the final 3 or 4 for a bunch of 4 star recruits and missed out on them. If your sole focus is getting 4 star recruits, we didn't do well.
But the class is rated 31st in the country. That is amazing for this program at this point, so early in Coach Fran's tenure as the SU HC. It is enormous.
While there are a couple of players with only a handful of BCS offers, there are way fewer than in the past. The height, weight and speed of the players we are adding is vastly better than what we have been getting PFB (pre Fran Brown).
I have lost count on the number but I think we have like 7 or 8 guys in this class who run sub 11 seconds in the 100 meters.
We have a quarterback who has size, is really athletic, has a strong arm and has dominated at the HS level. And another who is even more athletic and dynamic, that was just voted the player of the year in NYS.
The haul of OL in the 2025 class is almost unfathomable to me. We have struggled so much to get even one decent OT in a class for decades. Getting 5 or 6, who all have multiple P5 offers, great size and clear athletic ability, is just amazing.
We have had similar issues getting DL, especially DTs to come to Syracuse. For decades. The DEs we have gotten are almost always really LBs we need to grow into DEs, and the DTs we get are really slower DEs that we hope will eventually grow into DTs. The players on the DL we got in this class are vastly better than any class we have gotten in at least 25 years. It is amazing.
The DBs are notably bigger and faster than we have gotten for decades. We only got one LB but looking at his film, he is an amazing prospect.
I really like the WRs we have brought in. No smurphs, all of them are uber athletic and very fast.
The TEs have the length and athletic ability we have needed and gone without for decades (I won't count Villari and OG here , as neither was brought in as a TE). They both need some work in the weight room and I get wanting TEs who are closer to being ready to play right away, but I like both our guys potential a lot.
At RB, I get being disappointed. Both guys we are bringing in did not have a lot of prestigious offers. Our staff sees something in them most other staffs do not. Bottom line is, we offered these kids very early. The staff believes in them and I think we should believe in the staff's ability to evaluate players until performance on the field proves otherwise.
When Coach Mac turned around the program, he did it by vastly upgrading the DL and OL first. I think in football, the game is almost always won by the team that dominates play at the line. For the first time in a long time, I think we have a chance to hold our own or even beat most ACC programs on the line of scrimmage. IMHO, this class was a huge step towards that goal.
I'll also add that there are 6 months [or so] before rankings / star ratings get locked in. Guys who are unevaluated now might end up looking like solid recruits in November. Some prospects who are 3-stars now might bump up to 4-stars.
So a class of players that doesn't seem impressive now might look a lot different in a couple of months.
That's why paying attention to only one indicator generally doesn't tell the full picture at our level. Star ratings, class ranking, P5 offers, etc. all have to be taken into consideration.
What I'm primarily paying attention to at this point is the measureables -- height, weight, speed, etc. for their position -- and the offer lists of guys we're competing against.
Fran Brown seems to have a type. Enormous OL, height at CB / in the secondary, and speed speed speed. So no doubt, they are taking some risks to fill that.
But on the other hand, we're getting some grown a$$ men in both trenches, and we've added elite speed. If and when we have a big year in 2024, you'll see an uptick with this staff of recruiters. But I think from this thread that those selling the class short are premature.
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