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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 3490397, member: 289"] Dino and his men have not stopped recruiting receivers, who he obviously has big plans for. The newcomers: Damien Alford is a 3 star wide-out from Hollywood – Florida, (which means that if he went to Florida, he’d be a 4 star. Actually, he’s from Canada and moved to Florida.) He’s a tall guy, (6-5) so he should be a great target. He was ranked the 119th best wide-out in the class. “Alford is comfortable springing into the air for a ball on the outside over outmatched defensive backs. He’s also faster than most of the players defending him but that could change against ACC competition. However, Alford gives DeVito a weapon who he can launch a jump ball to. Alford basically has the size of a tight end, with the speed and physical traits of a receiver.” Highlights: [URL="https://247sports.com/Video/Damien-Alford-Senior-Highlights-9572683/"]Damien Alford Senior Highlights[/URL] He could sure make a quarterback look good, getting those ‘jump balls’. He also has a loping gait that suggests that he’s as fast as he needs to be. Justin Barron is a 3 star from Connecticut, (which means that if he’d gone to Connecticut he’d be a 2 star). He was rated the #109 ‘athlete’ in the class, meaning that he could help the team at a number of positons. He’s also got some size at 6-4. “As a junior at Suffield Academy, Barron caught 34 passes for 581 yards and four touchdowns, per MaxPreps.com. He added 35 tackles, including one for loss, a pair of interceptions and six pass deflections.” Per Syracuse.com Barron said ““The staff wants me working on both sides of the ball. I’m told every time that they are fighting over me for which side of the ball I’m going to be playing on…. I believe some of my strengths as a player are my height, side-to-side quickness, and my awareness. These help me and give me an advantage against my opponents. I do not believe I have any weaknesses as a player.” Confidence is a good thing. Here are some junior highlights with commentary from “Inside the Loud House”: [URL="https://insidetheloudhouse.com/2019/06/18/tale-of-the-tape-2020-athlete-justin-barron-is-orange/"]Syracuse Football: Film breakdown on 2020 athlete Justin Barron[/URL] Here are some senior highlights: [MEDIA=youtube]RjDBR_56_mU[/MEDIA] He makes some great catches along the sideline and would be a good man to throw a fade to. But I was even more impressed with his defensive highlights and I wonder if he could wind up at linebacker, where we need all the help we can get. Trebor Pena is a 3 star from New Jersey we flipped from Temple, (not as bad as that would once have been: they’ve been pretty good in recent years). He’s not a tall guy at 5-11 but is just behind Barron as the #110 ‘athlete in this class. “In the final game of his high school career in the state playoffs, Pena rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns and also had a 75-yard kickoff return. The team had flipped its record from 2-9 two seasons ago to 8-1. The newspaper reported that Pena had 1,550 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns during his senior season.” (Syracuse.com). Nunes sees him as a slot guy but doesn’t think he’ll play much this year. His highlights: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV-aC4_pn6g"]2020 Signing Class | Trebor Pena[/URL] I like him as a running back. He’s got a great burst and runs north-south, making the most minimal cut he can to keep going downfield. JaVontae Williams is a 3 star from Florida, (meaning that if he went to Florida State, he’d be a 4 star). He’s got decent size at 6-0 196 and is the 170’s ranked wide-out in the class. We got him away from the U of Miami and Oregon so he must be pretty good. The big issue was qualifying academically, which he did. Nunes: “The more Florida speed we can add at the receiver position the better, and Williams certainly fits the bill. He’s also the sort of wideout that can catch passes in various parts of the field, with some good size at nearly 200 pounds. Since he’s one of a handful of players who intends to enroll in January, the extra time with the playbook could pay some major dividends. But with an extensive list of players at the position already, it’ll be a tough depth chart to crack for at least a year.” His highlights: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psrp9ZM21AU"]2020 Signing Class | Ja'Vontae Williams[/URL] I see some speed and jumping ability as well as plenty of determination. Other than that the tape is not spectacular, (although that QB looks pretty good). The dearth of players on the sideline and people in the stands suggests that this is small school completion but it is in Florida. Isaiah Jones Is a Junior College transfer with three years of eligibility. He’s another tall guy at 6-4. His output in ten games last year wasn’t all that prolific: 19 passes for 238 yards (12.5 avg.) and one touchdown. But he’ll add some depth at the position after the defections. His highlights: [URL="https://www.syracuse.com/orangefootball/2020/07/syracuse-football-recruiting-juco-wr-isaiah-jones-commits.html"]Syracuse football recruiting: JUCO WR Isaiah Jones commits[/URL] I see a lot of tough catches, many of them over the middle, and battles for extra yardage that get first downs and keep drives going. I also note that they have him listed as the #84 wide receiver in the country and that as a high school senior in Florida he caught 62 passes for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns. He may be a lot more than just ‘depth’. Steven Mahar Jr. is a 3 star tight end, (which means that since he came to Syracuse, he’s a three star.) he’s from Aquinas Institute or Rochester, the most successful football program in the state. He’s the 36th best tight end prospect in the class, so he’s a pretty good recruit. He’s a big target at 6-5. Nunes: “During his senior year at Aquinas Institute, Mahar played on both sides of the ball. Along with 20 receptions for 340 yards and four scores at tight end, he also had 35 tackles (one sack) on defense. The Orange still have both experienced senior Aaron Hackett and emerging threat Luke Benson at the tight end position for 2020, meaning Mahar is a strong candidate to redshirt. But we saw Syracuse use both TEs regularly throughout games in the back half of 2019 and one would imagine Benson will get even more targets next year. Once Hackett graduates, Mahar good become a contributor for the Orange rather quickly, though he may have to compete with fellow 2020 signee Justin Barron if the coaches put him in that position group.” His highlights: [URL="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9790010/5de544dc32dc3d11ac564a05"]Senior Year - Steven Mahar Jr.[/URL] He’s another “throw it up and let him go up and get it” guy who would be great of the fade. He’s also an impressive blocker. The other team’s coach might want to assign someone to cover him occasionally, (which the opposition high school coaches in the highlight film didn’t always do). Maxmillian Mang, at 6-7 250 is even bigger than Mahar, Alford or Barron but he’s far less known. He’s a native of Germany who decided he wanted to play American football in the United States. When he was recruited he had no rating but 24-7 now lists him as a 2 star and the 138th best tight end in the class. Nunes: “There are so many tight ends at SU’s disposal so it seems like a redshirt year is on the cards for Mang. But you never know.” His highlights: [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10389633/5c3dfd73b3d241179c9de174[/URL] He’s certainly a big target but he also seems to like knocking people down. He may be more of a blocking tight end or maybe his future could be on the defensive line. Overall, I still think there’s way too much talent here to have the level of production we’ve had the last couple of years. Also there’s a definite trend toward tall, strong wide-outs who can win the battles for positon and the ball. If we can protect DeVito we might start seeing some big numbers from this unit. [/QUOTE]

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