Class of 2025 Class of 2025 Recruiting Discussion

[CbusCuse]

Yeah, in all seriousness Fran is the best recruiter we are ever gonna have. If he really cannot do it, hands up and wave the white flag. I dont know if we can ever be good again if Fran doesnt deliver the talent here. Hate to buzz killington but youre right, we had best enjoy whatever it is however long we have it. Hoping Fran can deliver

Kind of. I feel like there are two major factors to recruiting at a high level. One is being a great recruiter. Second is recruiting for a team that has shown they can win a lot of games. A staff that wins a lot of games and doesn't have great recruiters may still out recruit another team with great recruiters that hasn't shown the ability to win.

Can't wait to see how we recruit after this season.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Kind of. I feel like there are two major factors to recruiting at a high level. One is being a great recruiter. Second is recruiting for a team that has shown they can win a lot of games. A staff that wins a lot of games and doesn't have great recruiters may still out recruit another team with great recruiters that hasn't shown the ability to win.

Can't wait to see how we recruit after this season.

Agreed, he crushed it out of the gate in the portal and late adds to the 2024 class, but to continue to improve the overall talent he has to demonstrate that he can win games at Syracuse. 8-9 wins this year would be a great start. It's clear that many of the highly regarded recruits are taking a wait and see approach when it comes to Fran's Syracuse team. I am sure every program we compete with is telling them as much as well

 

[RF2044]

I’ll come out and say it. Does anyone else think we loaded up too quick and weren’t selective enough in certain spots, especially coming off the last years haul that Fran was able to accomplish in mainly a month? We’re already down to around 40 in class rankings, even with 28 commits, and have one of the lowest avg rating per player for any P4 program. I understand some of that may be from taking more NYS kids which are always over looked. For the most part I am fine with all those takes, but I can see a number of possible reaches where I don’t see how holding some spots for later in the cycle where we could possibly add high end players with a big season would have hurt? A big season is certainly within grasp with the schedule and this team’s overall talent. It would be a shame if that happens and we don’t have any spots, or only a select few. I have all the confidence in Fran and this staffs ability to recruit. I would have been a bit more selective for some elite hits. At worst some of the guys we already have would’ve been available towards NSD, or at least similar caliber.

I think this is a fair question to ask.

Because coming off of last year's class -- even with limited time to work with -- Fran and his hastily-assembled staff killed it. Killed it both with respect to the portal, flipping high profile recruits from other schools, and also going out and outright landing a couple of guys who wouldn't have even considered us before Fran arrived.

So with that spectacular haul [and it's important to note that usually when a new coach comes in after an outbound coach is let go toward the end of the year, the class is usually just stop gap, since the new coach has to mostly start from ground zero] as Fran's opening number -- I think many expected this year to be more of the same.

I confess that at times, I have had a similar thought a what Anomander outlines above. I've also thought stuff like:

• Boy, it's only May / June / July -- we've already got twenty-xxx recruits committed -- shouldn't they be saving room?
• Or -- this guy seems under the radar -- shouldn't we be holding out for higher rated guys?
• Or -- I expect this team to win 9 or 10 games -- shouldn't we wait for the success to start happening, so we can sell something even MORE positive on the recruiting trail?

So I acknowledge what Anomander is asking about above. And I do think that there are a group of recruits in this class that it is fair to question, because they weren't rated highly initially, or they weren't on anyone else's radar, etc. A good example of this is the OL from CNS. But on the other hand, he's mammoth-sized, he's athletic, and he's got the right measureables. Whether he achieves an actualization of that potential remains to be seen, but I understand the gamble.

And that's what we've got with about half of this class -- speed, athleticism, and size. If we hit on some of those prospects, then this class will look better through the lens of hindsight than it does right now, in July. And if some of these guys get evaluated [several for the first time], and their star ratings climb a bit, this class might be positioned differently in the rankings toward the end of the year.

The other thing that takes some of the risk away from the class we've lined up -- at least for me -- is when you look at the committable offer list for most of the class. The majority of guys we've landed have very solid offers -- some of them, elite offer lists from factory programs. Several of them might not have those blue chip offers, but several offers from respectable peer programs in the ACC, B1G, and others. Again, offer lists don't tell the full story, but when you see a guy who commits to us who's a low rated 3-star, but he's got offers from Tennessee, Penn State, etc. I have a little more confidence about how it will play out.

So... I guess we'll see. I know that we'll have some attrition toward the end of the season, because that always happens anyway, and it happens even MORE fluidly now in the portal era -- so I'm not worried about open scholarships at this point. If the class is "full" now, that's not a problem -- because we're sure to have 10 or more vacancies to work with come December / January.

Now, if we can get these behemoth OL to pan out, and these insanely fast DBs with size to pan out, then it will just prove that Fran can spot game. Which is why he's considered a recruiting guru.

 

[Niastri]

I think this is a fair question to ask.

Because coming off of last year's class -- even with limited time to work with -- Fran and his hastily-assembled staff killed it. Killed it both with respect to the portal, flipping high profile recruits from other schools, and also going out and outright landing a couple of guys who wouldn't have even considered us before Fran arrived.

So with that spectacular haul [and it's important to note that usually when a new coach comes in after an outbound coach is let go toward the end of the year, the class is usually just stop gap, since the new coach has to mostly start from ground zero] as Fran's opening number -- I think many expected this year to be more of the same.

I confess that at times, I have had a similar thought a what Anomander outlines above. I've also thought stuff like:

• Boy, it's only May / June / July -- we've already got twenty-xxx recruits committed -- shouldn't they be saving room?
• Or -- this guy seems under the radar -- shouldn't we be holding out for higher rated guys?
• Or -- I expect this team to win 9 or 10 games -- shouldn't we wait for the success to start happening, so we can sell something even MORE positive on the recruiting trail?

So I acknowledge what Anomander is asking about above. And I do think that there are a group of recruits in this class that it is fair to question, because they weren't rated highly initially, or they weren't on anyone else's radar, etc. A good example of this is the OL from CNS. But on the other hand, he's mammoth-sized, he's athletic, and he's got the right measureables. Whether he achieves an actualization of that potential remains to be seen, but I understand the gamble.

And that's what we've got with about half of this class -- speed, athleticism, and size. If we hit on some of those prospects, then this class will look better through the lens of hindsight than it does right now, in July. And if some of these guys get evaluated [several for the first time], and their star ratings climb a bit, this class might be positioned differently in the rankings toward the end of the year.

The other thing that takes some of the risk away from the class we've lined up -- at least for me -- is when you look at the committable offer list for most of the class. The majority of guys we've landed have very solid offers -- some of them, elite offer lists from factory programs. Several of them might not have those blue chip offers, but several offers from respectable peer programs in the ACC, B1G, and others. Again, offer lists don't tell the full story, but when you see a guy who commits to us who's a low rated 3-star, but he's got offers from Tennessee, Penn State, etc. I have a little more confidence about how it will play out.

So... I guess we'll see. I know that we'll have some attrition toward the end of the season, because that always happens anyway, and it happens even MORE fluidly now in the portal era -- so I'm not worried about open scholarships at this point. If the class is "full" now, that's not a problem -- because we're sure to have 10 or more vacancies to work with come December / January.

Now, if we can get these behemoth OL to pan out, and these insanely fast DBs with size to pan out, then it will just prove that Fran can spot game. Which is why he's considered a recruiting guru.

I really liked this post. Well considered and comprehensive.

I am not asking this as criticism, but: is Fran Brown known as an exceptional evaluator of talent? I was under the impression that he was the "top recruiter" because he was more effective at getting who he wanted than everybody else in the game. I didn't think that included the ability to find the talent that had avoided attention.

I would think they are two completely different things.

If Fran Brown is genuinely excellent at both, he won't need much game coaching skill to be a huge success.

 

[RF2044]

I really liked this post. Well considered and comprehensive.

I am not asking this as criticism, but: is Fran Brown known as an exceptional evaluator of talent? I was under the impression that he was the "top recruiter" because he was more effective at getting who he wanted than everybody else in the game. I didn't think that included the ability to find the talent that had avoided attention.

I would think they are two completely different things.

If Fran Brown is genuinely excellent at both, he won't need much game coaching skill to be a huge success.

Kirby Smart from Georgia said that he gave Fran Brown carte blanche autonomy to target recruits, even if they weren't rated -- because he had such a good eye for talent.

Now, that doesn't mean that every prospect is going to end up being a stud. For example, he recruited a guy from NJ last year [who looks like he's going to play RB / KR for us] who NOBODY ELSE was recruiting, but he's a track star who's one of the fastest people in the US at the high school level. As in, he's one of the 10 fastest kids in the country. Can he play football? Or is he just a guy who can run fast, but has lousy hands [for example]? Time will tell. But he's got BEYOND elite speed.

I think that's an example of what I mean. If this dude ends up being a KR "only" but busts some big plays, everyone will be happy.

 

[cusefan88]

I really liked this post. Well considered and comprehensive.

I am not asking this as criticism, but: is Fran Brown known as an exceptional evaluator of talent? I was under the impression that he was the "top recruiter" because he was more effective at getting who he wanted than everybody else in the game. I didn't think that included the ability to find the talent that had avoided attention.

I would think they are two completely different things.

If Fran Brown is genuinely excellent at both, he won't need much game coaching skill to be a huge success.

A lot of guys in the NFL from Temple were recruited and identified during Brown's time at that school. Which tells me a lot about his ability to evaluate and develop.

 

[baggerbob]

Kirby Smart from Georgia said that he gave Fran Brown carte blanche autonomy to target recruits, even if they weren't rated -- because he had such a good eye for talent.

Now, that doesn't mean that every prospect is going to end up being a stud. For example, he recruited a guy from NJ last year [who looks like he's going to play RB / KR for us] who NOBODY ELSE was recruiting, but he's a track star who's one of the fastest people in the US at the high school level. As in, he's one of the 10 fastest kids in the country. Can he play football? Or is he just a guy who can run fast, but has lousy hands [for example]? Time will tell. But he's got BEYOND elite speed.

I think that's an example of what I mean. If this dude ends up being a KR "only" but busts some big plays, everyone will be happy.

James was injured running track his junior year.
Wasn't able to go to any of the summer camps to show off his skills, so he was underecruited.

 

[RF2044]

James was injured running track his junior year.
Wasn't able to go to any of the summer camps to show off his skills, so he was underecruited.

Yup. But when Malachi ended up being a surprise LOI guy on signing day, the collective response -- not just from our fanbase, but several of the recruiting sites -- was, "who?"

And then over the ensuring winter / spring months, we saw his track prowess, and how his speed rated against the elite of the elite nationally, and it makes sense why Brown is rolling the dice.

Point being, he might take some gambles, but they are gambles on elite size, speed, and athleticism. Which Fran Brown knows how to spot.

 

[Niastri]

Yup. But when Malachi ended up being a surprise LOI guy on signing day, the collective response -- not just from our fanbase, but several of the recruiting sites -- was, "who?"

And then over the ensuring winter / spring months, we saw his track prowess, and how his speed rated against the elite of the elite nationally, and it makes sense why Brown is rolling the dice.

Point being, he might take some gambles, but they are gambles on elite size, speed, and athleticism. Which Fran Brown knows how to spot.

Malachi James is full football player size, too, not some tiny scat back. I love everything about him, except that we don't know how good he is at football, yet.

Similar things about a bunch of the offensive linemen we took. They are all huge already, unlike the undersized guys we've been trying to bulk up to acceptable size for decades.

I liked this class, a lot.

You just perked my interest with your point about Fran's ability finding talent, as well as successfully recruiting it.

The two data points about Temple and Georgia during his time there speaks volumes. I hadn't heard either story.

 

[tep624]

I think this is a fair question to ask.

Because coming off of last year's class -- even with limited time to work with -- Fran and his hastily-assembled staff killed it. Killed it both with respect to the portal, flipping high profile recruits from other schools, and also going out and outright landing a couple of guys who wouldn't have even considered us before Fran arrived.

So with that spectacular haul [and it's important to note that usually when a new coach comes in after an outbound coach is let go toward the end of the year, the class is usually just stop gap, since the new coach has to mostly start from ground zero] as Fran's opening number -- I think many expected this year to be more of the same.

I confess that at times, I have had a similar thought a what Anomander outlines above. I've also thought stuff like:

• Boy, it's only May / June / July -- we've already got twenty-xxx recruits committed -- shouldn't they be saving room?
• Or -- this guy seems under the radar -- shouldn't we be holding out for higher rated guys?
• Or -- I expect this team to win 9 or 10 games -- shouldn't we wait for the success to start happening, so we can sell something even MORE positive on the recruiting trail?

So I acknowledge what Anomander is asking about above. And I do think that there are a group of recruits in this class that it is fair to question, because they weren't rated highly initially, or they weren't on anyone else's radar, etc. A good example of this is the OL from CNS. But on the other hand, he's mammoth-sized, he's athletic, and he's got the right measureables. Whether he achieves an actualization of that potential remains to be seen, but I understand the gamble.

And that's what we've got with about half of this class -- speed, athleticism, and size. If we hit on some of those prospects, then this class will look better through the lens of hindsight than it does right now, in July. And if some of these guys get evaluated [several for the first time], and their star ratings climb a bit, this class might be positioned differently in the rankings toward the end of the year.

The other thing that takes some of the risk away from the class we've lined up -- at least for me -- is when you look at the committable offer list for most of the class. The majority of guys we've landed have very solid offers -- some of them, elite offer lists from factory programs. Several of them might not have those blue chip offers, but several offers from respectable peer programs in the ACC, B1G, and others. Again, offer lists don't tell the full story, but when you see a guy who commits to us who's a low rated 3-star, but he's got offers from Tennessee, Penn State, etc. I have a little more confidence about how it will play out.

So... I guess we'll see. I know that we'll have some attrition toward the end of the season, because that always happens anyway, and it happens even MORE fluidly now in the portal era -- so I'm not worried about open scholarships at this point. If the class is "full" now, that's not a problem -- because we're sure to have 10 or more vacancies to work with come December / January.

Now, if we can get these behemoth OL to pan out, and these insanely fast DBs with size to pan out, then it will just prove that Fran can spot game. Which is why he's considered a recruiting guru.

I think one other thing to put out there - these guys (specifically Fran and ERob) came from SEC programs - recruiting there is a little different. They definitely take guys early and then rearrange priorities down the line if other prospects are more desirable, available, and room needs to be made. I don't expect us to be as cutthroat as a top level SEC program, but I do feel our recruiting strategy will be leaning more in that direction than Dino's staff.

 

[hplare]

Where did i ever say the guys they recruited lack athleticism, or we’re desperate?

I literally said there seems to be 4 or 5 possible reaches where i wouldn’t have minded seeing them hold out for elite kids like who they finished last years class with, especially if we have a big season. The 105 scholarship limit doesn’t go into effect until next year so i don’t see how many more guys we can possibly add. We can all pretty much figure out who the 4 or 5 potential reaches this early in the cycle are.

As for the 105 scholarship rule change starting next year that certainly won’t help us. It will allow the schools who give out NIL deal for HS recruits another leg up and allow the tOSU, Georgia, Bama, etc to load up even more. I don’t see how that rule will help things as it should only make the transfer phenomenon that more out of hand.

Yes, and the 105 rule change will certainly help SU and many others. OSU, Georgia and Bama will load up, but if players are transferring now because of a lack of playing time with a roster of 85 think what 105 will create. As you say, there will be transfers aplenty and I would trust Fran to be there.

 

[anomander]

I think this is a fair question to ask.

Because coming off of last year's class -- even with limited time to work with -- Fran and his hastily-assembled staff killed it. Killed it both with respect to the portal, flipping high profile recruits from other schools, and also going out and outright landing a couple of guys who wouldn't have even considered us before Fran arrived.

So with that spectacular haul [and it's important to note that usually when a new coach comes in after an outbound coach is let go toward the end of the year, the class is usually just stop gap, since the new coach has to mostly start from ground zero] as Fran's opening number -- I think many expected this year to be more of the same.

I confess that at times, I have had a similar thought a what Anomander outlines above. I've also thought stuff like:

• Boy, it's only May / June / July -- we've already got twenty-xxx recruits committed -- shouldn't they be saving room?
• Or -- this guy seems under the radar -- shouldn't we be holding out for higher rated guys?
• Or -- I expect this team to win 9 or 10 games -- shouldn't we wait for the success to start happening, so we can sell something even MORE positive on the recruiting trail?

So I acknowledge what Anomander is asking about above. And I do think that there are a group of recruits in this class that it is fair to question, because they weren't rated highly initially, or they weren't on anyone else's radar, etc. A good example of this is the OL from CNS. But on the other hand, he's mammoth-sized, he's athletic, and he's got the right measureables. Whether he achieves an actualization of that potential remains to be seen, but I understand the gamble.

And that's what we've got with about half of this class -- speed, athleticism, and size. If we hit on some of those prospects, then this class will look better through the lens of hindsight than it does right now, in July. And if some of these guys get evaluated [several for the first time], and their star ratings climb a bit, this class might be positioned differently in the rankings toward the end of the year.

The other thing that takes some of the risk away from the class we've lined up -- at least for me -- is when you look at the committable offer list for most of the class. The majority of guys we've landed have very solid offers -- some of them, elite offer lists from factory programs. Several of them might not have those blue chip offers, but several offers from respectable peer programs in the ACC, B1G, and others. Again, offer lists don't tell the full story, but when you see a guy who commits to us who's a low rated 3-star, but he's got offers from Tennessee, Penn State, etc. I have a little more confidence about how it will play out.

So... I guess we'll see. I know that we'll have some attrition toward the end of the season, because that always happens anyway, and it happens even MORE fluidly now in the portal era -- so I'm not worried about open scholarships at this point. If the class is "full" now, that's not a problem -- because we're sure to have 10 or more vacancies to work with come December / January.

Now, if we can get these behemoth OL to pan out, and these insanely fast DBs with size to pan out, then it will just prove that Fran can spot game. Which is why he's considered a recruiting guru.

You articulated my thoughts better than I. Those same 3 thoughts is what led me to the post because what the hell it’s still the offseason.

To reiterate i really do think this is a solid class, just one lacking the star power of last years class. I like the mix of mammoth size with speed on the perimeter. There is 1 OL who sticks out from the others that doesn’t have that size, or the offers. Who knows maybe they know something nobody else does? Let’s see what happens. I would think if there are some spots available they would be held for headliners type guys?

 

[FrancoPizza]

Some of this talk is depressing . Let’s see how Fran does in the portal next year before going hari kari. Several of this year’s best coups came from the portal.

 

[Qbobby]

Point being, he might take some gambles, but they are gambles on elite size, speed, and athleticism. Which Fran Brown knows how to spot.

This is EXACTLY the type of player we should be taking our gambles on. You can't teach size, speed, or athleticism. But with those traits you have a chance to mold that player into a special player. Will they all work out? Of course not. But if can get one or two to pan out, you can get yourself someone special.

 

[SanDiegoCuse]

Official offers going out today, I believe.

 

[UD1954]

I don't think this staff looks at the star system when it offers recruits .... size speed and athleticism are verified before offering with HCFB leading ...all these kids no matter the stars need the right coaching to reach their potential and that's where l hope this staff shines

 

[kcsu]

Yup. But when Malachi ended up being a surprise LOI guy on signing day, the collective response -- not just from our fanbase, but several of the recruiting sites -- was, "who?"

And then over the ensuring winter / spring months, we saw his track prowess, and how his speed rated against the elite of the elite nationally, and it makes sense why Brown is rolling the dice.

Point being, he might take some gambles, but they are gambles on elite size, speed, and athleticism. Which Fran Brown knows how to spot.

Fran has forgotten more about talent than most of those on this site will ever know. Number 1 in the country. It amazes me that some are actually questioning his early takes.

 

[bnoro]

I don't think this staff looks at the star system when it offers recruits ... size speed and athleticism are verified before offering with HCFB leading ...all these kids no matter the stars need the right coaching to reach their potential and that's where l hope this staff shines

Outside of Mike Locksley (because he had a bonus tied to it), no serious CFB program looks at "stars". It's just a way for the sites to make money off of the fans.

 

[0.2 YNdeeR]

Yup. But when Malachi ended up being a surprise LOI guy on signing day, the collective response -- not just from our fanbase, but several of the recruiting sites -- was, "who?"

And then over the ensuring winter / spring months, we saw his track prowess, and how his speed rated against the elite of the elite nationally, and it makes sense why Brown is rolling the dice.

Point being, he might take some gambles, but they are gambles on elite size, speed, and athleticism. Which Fran Brown knows how to spot.

For sure. Usually Fran's commits that are undervalued by the star services (or not evaluated at all) have ridiculous measurables.

 

[CbusCuse]

Outside of Mike Locksley (because he had a bonus tied to it), no serious CFB program looks at "stars". It's just a way for the sites to make money off of the fans.

I think all staffs look at them and know what the stars are for each recruit. Its impossible not to. These sites are a tool to gather data on what recruits are out there and status of each etc. But do they put much stock in how many stars each recruit is listed at...certainly not.

 

[jgeorge322]

I think all staffs look at them and know what the stars are for each recruit. Its impossible not to. These sites are a tool to gather data on what recruits are out there and status of each etc. But do they put much stock in how many stars each recruit is listed at...certainly not.

The program offers drive the stars and not vice versa for the most point. Alabama doesn’t need to look at stars because when they get a kid, he’s going to either get a bump in the ranking or the kid has already been offered by all the blue bloods and therefore has a high ranking.

 

[anomander]

Outside of Mike Locksley (because he had a bonus tied to it), no serious CFB program looks at "stars". It's just a way for the sites to make money off of the fans.

Not saying we recruit based off the star system. We already have evidence to that not being the case. However, I don’t see how you can totally dismiss it? It’s no coincidence the top 20 teams are usually the ones with consistently high rated recruiting classes. I don’t think i need to point out that tOSU, Michigan, Bama, LSU, Penn St, ND, Clemson, Texas, Oregon, etc always have top 20 classes and have been year in and year out the best programs the last few years. Sure there are some that recruit well based on rankings who have underachieved, but there could be numerous reasons like bad coaching, tough schedule, no qb. Do you think any of Babers classes were under rated? I don’t. I think he was one of the absolute worst talent evaluators that we had and it’s a minor miracle he was successful as he was. Offensively, which was supposed to be his bread and butter he didn’t recruit 1 QB who could win at this level in 8 years. Outside of Gadsen, he somehow didn’t recruit 1 quality WR in 8’years. As for RB i’ll say he stumbled on Tucker and later Allen. What OL did he recruit and develop outside of Bergeron? Defensively was better, but how much was he involved. It’s embarrassing the lack of offensive players that he missed on. I would have traded every single one of his classes for someone’s in the top 25. Kids have so much much exposure to camps and such these days. There is more than enough film for these coaches to evaluate. Everyone says Bama kids get the automatic bump. Do we not think Saban and his staff were unable to evaluate kids? There was a reason he won multiple championships. I would much rather be inside the top 25 recruiting rankings than not.

 

[Goin' Deep]

How good is our coaching staff...can they win games...lots of 'em? We don't know...
How good is our strength and conditioning program...VAST improvement it would seem.
How good is the school, the "atmosphere"...better than most.
CUSE may never have a top 20 recruiting class as measured by the services.
But if we can get those "high 3 stars", with good "attitudes", coaches that can develop talent AND win allotta games, do we need 10 4 stars as scored by the services?

 

[timkay99]

Not saying we recruit based off the star system. We already have evidence to that not being the case. However, I don’t see how you can totally dismiss it? It’s no coincidence the top 20 teams are usually the ones with consistently high rated recruiting classes. I don’t think i need to point out that tOSU, Michigan, Bama, LSU, Penn St, ND, Clemson, Texas, Oregon, etc always have top 20 classes and have been year in and year out the best programs the last few years. Sure there are some that recruit well based on rankings who have underachieved, but there could be numerous reasons like bad coaching, tough schedule, no qb. Do you think any of Babers classes were under rated? I don’t. I think he was one of the absolute worst talent evaluators that we had and it’s a minor miracle he was successful as he was. Offensively, which was supposed to be his bread and butter he didn’t recruit 1 QB who could win at this level in 8 years. Outside of Gadsen, he somehow didn’t recruit 1 quality WR in 8’years. As for RB i’ll say he stumbled on Tucker and later Allen. What OL did he recruit and develop outside of Bergeron? Defensively was better, but how much was he involved. It’s embarrassing the lack of offensive players that he missed on. I would have traded every single one of his classes for someone’s in the top 25. Kids have so much much exposure to camps and such these days. There is more than enough film for these coaches to evaluate. Everyone says Bama kids get the automatic bump. Do we not think Saban and his staff were unable to evaluate kids? There was a reason he won multiple championships. I would much rather be inside the top 25 recruiting rankings than not.

Stars are a fan thing and a coaching staff should never take it into account and should dismiss it. It's like PFF numbers. Stuff for fans to discuss that really doesn't mean anything.

This seems pretty revisionist overall. Devito could play at this level and started in the NFL. He brought in Trishton Jackson as a transfer (NFL camp WR). Saying he stumbled on guys (Tucker/Allen), we can both admit is shaping something to your assumptions and saying Gadsden is a recruiting win while arguing stars isn't supporting that.

If looking at only stars, per 247, he got Qadir White (4 star), Enrique Cruz (4 star), Neil Nunn (4 star), Trill Williams (4 star) and Tommy Devito (4 star). The success rate of those guys kind of shows the risk in recruiting solely off stars.

Dino left the team in a better spot than he found it. Obviously, there were deficiencies, but taking over a 6-6 team in the ACC is better than almost every new Syracuse coach since the move away from P.

Fran is going to get raw measurables and ability and trust he can mold it into a football player at the HS level, then go into the portal for those kids he liked out of HS that become available.

 

[tep624]

Dino left the team in a better spot than he found it. Obviously, there were deficiencies, but taking over a 6-6 team in the ACC is better than almost every new Syracuse coach since the move away from P.

That's debatable.

The infrastructure is definitely much better but that isn't Dino's doing.

His first 3 years including his high water mark 2018 relied on inherited talent at a lot of positions (the least of which being Dungey). He turned over a roster to Fran that lacked any first line QB, let alone a functional backup, and that needed complete rebuilds to both the OL and DL. Not to mention the 2 deep beyond Pena and LeQuint at WR and RB were pretty weak overall. TE / LB / DB are the depth charts that were good to strong without a ton of work on Fran's part, even though he still added some really nice pieces to each of them.

Dino turned over a 2-6 ACC team, Shafer turned over a 2-6 ACC team. So I don't feel Dino turned over anything that much different than what he inherited, and due to the QB depth, arguably worse.