Class of 2023 JUCO RB Deston Hawkins (CA) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (5/23/23)

[GoSU96]

Why the concern? He's a depth RB for the upcoming season. He's not a 2024 commit. They really like Allen and they have two freshman's waiting behind him. Hawkins has 4 offers after dominating 1 year of juco ball. Has 3 years to play. I'm just giving you info. I'm not saying he's the next Jim Brown

Every recruit sucks, except when they don’t, and then they will all declare early or transfer.

I think that’s the state of the program.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Every recruit sucks, except when they don’t, and then they will all declare early or transfer.

I think that’s the state of the program.

That's the state of some posters.

 

[tep624]

Nobody is concerned we are dredging the California JC ranks for players with no other offers in late May? i would have to think there are portal players with real experience because we very well may need it at RB if anything were to happen to Allen.
Hopefully this class exceeds what it currently looks like on paper.

You’re not the only one. I’ve just grown tired of even bothering to comment on it anymore.

 

[cusefan88]

If this guy was coming in to be a starter with lots of snaps I'd be concerned. He's coming in as a low-risk guy competing for a back-up job. There's issues on the roster but I don't think this particular situation calls for it.

 

[money3189]

Every recruit sucks, except when they don’t, and then they will all declare early or transfer.

I think that’s the state of the program.

This kid could stay another year of Juco, rack up offers and pick a bigger program. Only then he would be good enough for Cuse.

 

[RF2044]

This kid could stay another a year of Juco, rack up offers and picks a bigger program. Only then he would be good enough for Cuse.

I guess I don't understand why this addition is controversial. Running backs are kind of a dime a dozen -- they're not all Sean Tucker's who garner All-American consideration. Nor do they need to be blue chip caliber to be effective contributors, or even quality starters.

People were -- correctly, IMO -- expressing a bit of concern about the RB depth chart, given:

• Allen's relatively slight frame
• The questionable effectiveness of the OL to open holes / keep Allen from taking unnecessary punishment
• And the unproven guys behind Allen on the depth chart [i.e., Price, the two frosh, two walk-ons]

So the coaching staff went out and successfully recruited a RB to add to the mix and bolster depth.

But to your point -- low risk add, probably won't be counted on extensively in his first year. And if he does crack the two-deep -- great, that just signifies that he is better than what people expect.

He was being recruited by several programs that went to bowls in 2022 [Oregon State, Washington State, Fresno, etc.], which sort of indicates that he's a decent "get." And to your point, we recruited him after his first year of JUCO, which is a creative approach from our coaching staff. Most JUCOs don't get recruited until their second year, so maybe he would have garnered bigger offers if he had another productive year.

This kid is physically mature and should on paper be more ready to contribute, having played against JUCO caliber competition, where he excelled.

His film looked impressive -- again, not just a HS highlight reel [where D1 prospects often dominate / stand out against HS competition that isn't at their level], but against collegiate level players, albeit at the JUCO level.

What's the issue here?

 

[Cuse'91]

While not a super sexy pickup, it was a position of need. No way should a P5 program go into a season with the unknowns we have in the rb room. I'm hoping this kid was just overlooked in a state with tons of college football prospects. He's also from Northern California, which is less focused on, compared to Southern California; maybe a Lamson-esque situation.

 

[AngryOtto]

I really like the juco pickups. I feel they bring quality depth to positions of need. A number of the juco players maybe needed to wait for grades or see that they would graduate before teams started to show interest. It also could be that other teams are focused on the portal and not juco where there are quality players. I feel and I think it has been shown the staff is good at evaluating talent and development. As one poster stated none of the jucos were being brought in to be immediate starters. If they are able to take the spot even better.

 

[RF2044]

I really like the juco pickups. I feel they bring quality depth to positions of need. A number of the juco players maybe needed to wait for grades or see that they would graduate before teams started to show interest. It also could be that other teams are focused on the portal and not juco where there are quality players. I feel and I think it has been shown the staff is good at evaluating talent and development. As one poster stated none of the jucos were being brought in to be immediate starters. If they are able to take the spot even better.

Just to clarify [and I'm just building on your point about grades, not suggesting that you are stating this specifically] -- not all JUCOs are borderline academically.

JUCOs come in two distinct categories:

1. Those that aren't qualified academically coming out of high school
2. Those that attained a qualifying score in high school BEFORE attending JUCO

For those that aren't, JUCO enables them to play college ball, but they need to graduate from the junior college with a degree to become eligible to "transfer up" to a D1 program. If they don't graduate and earn an associate's degree, then they aren't eligible to play D1 football -- so grades are an important consideration.

But for those that DO attain a qualifying score out of HS, they're eligible to transfer out of the JUCO level at any time. In other words, they don't need to get an associate's degree first, like those who couldn't make the grade out of HS, because they've ALREADY satisfied the minimum academic requirements to play at the D1 level.

Hawkins fits into the second use case. He was qualified out of HS, but opted to go JUCO for whatever reason. Sometimes, it's for exposure / opportunity because they didn't have offers coming out of high school. Some players might even have offers coming out of HS that are lower than they like, so they choose to gamble on themselves in pursuit of better offers.

But since Hawkins was qualified, he was eligible to transfer to any D1 program that offered him a full ride.
It's also important to note that most JUCO players don't get actively recruited until AFTER their second year. Had Hawkins opted to stay at the JUCO level for his sophomore season, his offer list might have expanded if more teams got involved as per the normal JUCO recruiting cycle. Admittedly, we'll never know.

But that's why I posted above that this may be a situation where the Syracuse coaching staff got creative, identified this kid as a legit D1 prospect, and moved to bring him in before other programs got involved, so that we could avoid competition. And since he was already academically qualified [undoubtedly a factor in our decision to target him], he's a kid we could get here in June to accelerate his readiness to compete this fall.

Again, Hawkins's film looks pretty good. I'll leave it up to the coaches on the board, like Money, to provide an educated scouting report. But there's no telling what type of offers he might have gotten next year.

Time will tell whether the coaches were right about Hawkins.

 

[djorange1989]

I really like the juco pickups. I feel they bring quality depth to positions of need. A number of the juco players maybe needed to wait for grades or see that they would graduate before teams started to show interest. It also could be that other teams are focused on the portal and not juco where there are quality players. I feel and I think it has been shown the staff is good at evaluating talent and development. As one poster stated none of the jucos were being brought in to be immediate starters. If they are able to take the spot even better.

Yes both Juco and HS kids are getting hurt by the portal, where so much focus is going

 

[SU94]

I guess I don't understand why this addition is controversial. Running backs are kind of a dime a dozen -- they're not all Sean Tucker's who the entire offense is structured around. Nor do they need to be blue chip caliber to be effective contributors.

People were -- correctly, IMO -- expressing a bit of concern about the RB depth chart, given Allen's relatively slight frame and the unproven guys behind him. So the coaching staff went out and successfully recruited a RB to help bolster depth.

So, to your point -- low risk add, probably won't be counted on extensively in his first year. And if he does crack the two-deep -- great, that just signifies that he is better than what people expect.

He was being recruited by several programs that went to bowls in 2022, which sort of indicates that he's a decent "get." And to your point, we recruited him after his first year of JUCO, which is a creative approach from our coaching staff. Most JUCOs don't get recruited until their second year, so maybe he would have garnered bigger offers after another productive year.

This kid is physically mature and should on paper be more ready to contribute, having played against JUCO caliber competition, where he excelled.

His film looked impressive -- again, not just a HS highlight reel [where D1 prospects often dominate], but against collegiate level competition, albeit at the JUCO level.

What's the issue here?

I don't think he was the primary recruiter, but I have to think Rocky Long made a few calls on regards to Hawkins. He has to know every JUCO coach on the West Coast, right?
I am buying whatever Rocky is selling, if I am Dino.

 

[qdawgg]

Kind of a silly recruit to lambast the state of the program. Not much to add that hasn’t been said. Adds depth and it’s a very solid pickup to do that. The kid can play, can he play ACC level, we’ll find out. Nobody knows that even if they’re a 4 star out of HS. But he’s far from a flier or a diamond in the rough prospect. Not really sure how there can be any angst with this pickup.

 

[money3189]

I really like the juco pickups. I feel they bring quality depth to positions of need. A number of the juco players maybe needed to wait for grades or see that they would graduate before teams started to show interest. It also could be that other teams are focused on the portal and not juco where there are quality players. I feel and I think it has been shown the staff is good at evaluating talent and development. As one poster stated none of the jucos were being brought in to be immediate starters. If they are able to take the spot even better.

Great points.

 

[OmahaCuse]

I would think the coaches got a recommendation from someone about the kid and his talent level. They dont just look at random film and offer kids without doing full DD.

 

[kcsu]

While not a super sexy pickup, it was a position of need. No way should a P5 program go into a season with the unknowns we have in the rb room. I'm hoping this kid was just overlooked in a state with tons of college football prospects. He's also from Northern California, which is less focused on, compared to Southern California; maybe a Lamson-esque situation.

Tucker
Ed
Lamson
Darton
All under rated, lightly recruited.
I personally think this kid is going to end up being a good player for us.

 

[orangencpolice]

Why don’t we wait until the kid gets on the field before we throw him to the wolves. I
Like the addition, since LeQuint is the only proven back on the team.

 

[NJCuse97]

Why don’t we wait until the kid gets on the field before we throw him to the wolves. I
Like the addition, since LeQuint is the only proven back on the team.

And preseason All-ACC after appearances in what, 2 games?

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

Ranked as #5 JUCO back by 247.

 

[BillSU]

Expand...

OFFERED> DESTON HAWKINS 2025 FOOTHILL COLLEGE LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA
#4 6' 1" 205/ GRAD 12/22 / 1164 YDS/ 19 TDS/ 8.5 YDS PER CARRY/ 116 YPG

ASSETS PER HUDL FILM:

FAST/ 40 N/A EST HIGH 4.4's
LOTS OF NICE JUKES
GOES ALL OUT EVERY CARRY
CATCHES THE BALL

SIGN HIM
COMMITTED!!

 

[SmilinBob]

I really think Allen is going to be a special back but I'm really hoping he doesn't get overused and any quality depth will help keep Allen fresh which would be fantastic if Hawkins could help do that.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

I really think Allen is going to be a special back but I'm really hoping he doesn't get overused and any quality depth will help keep Allen fresh which would be fantastic if Hawkins could help do that.

Agreed. Looking at highlight tapes, Hawkins is a little different than the other backs we have coming in. He is a little thicker and more of a one cut runner, Parkman and Daniel’s are smaller and more shifty. Worse case he gives the defense a big back to practice against.

 

[kcsu]

Im bumping this post because he just became a very important player for us.
Hes about Tucks size andlike tuck a one cut back. He is going to play a ton if quint is out

 

[Ringostar57]

Post standard didn't even mention him now that LeQuint looks like he won't be available. Hawkins now looms BIG. JC football is big in California and with a year under his belt and now around 215 pounds needs to getting the plays and blocking assignments down fast.

 

[sutomcat]

Post standard didn't even mention him now that LeQuint looks like he won't be available. Hawkins now looms BIG. JC football is big in California and with a year under his belt and now around 215 pounds needs to getting the plays and blocking assignments down fast.

Emily wrote at least one article announcing Hawkins was coming to Syracuse.

JUCO running back Deston Hawkins commits to Syracuse

Hawkins spent two seasons at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California.

www.syracuse.com

I think she went to the cuse.com web site and looked at all the RBs listed on their roster. They unfortunately do not do a good job keeping it up to date. I don't think they are going to update it until early August.

 

[Ringostar57]

Emily wrote at least one article announcing Hawkins was coming to Syracuse.

JUCO running back Deston Hawkins commits to Syracuse

Hawkins spent two seasons at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California.

www.syracuse.com

I think she went to the cuse.com web site and looked at all the RBs listed on their roster. They unfortunately do not do a good job keeping it up to date. I don't think they are going to update it until early August.

Emily's article today didn't mention Hawkins.