Class of 2026 OL Steven Pickard (FL) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (1/25/25)

[Cuse On 3]

This kid has joe cruz written all over him

 

[CuseMan4]

He visited Florida State for the East Texas A&M game on September 6th as did Javeion Cooper. Not positive how much interest either direction but it seems like FSU is at least exploring the option of flipping him.

Understand you are just sharing info which I appreciate. But Pickard is the last player in this class I expect to flip anywhere.

Cooper on the other hand. Is like a girlfriend you have locked down but is a big flirt to anyone

 

[CuseMan4]

This kid has joe cruz written all over him

Haha idk about that. I like the kid too. He’s a big time Syracuse fan and use to live here. But he’s definitely a project which there is nothing wrong with that. I think Hawn who is the true frosh on campus right now is a lot more comparable to Joe Cruz. Cruz doesn’t get enough credit. He was underrated since Day 1 and you could have probably plugged him in a series or two and he would have played well since his true freshman year. Same exact thing with Hawn. Similar sizes, skill sets, underrated, could probably play this year if we NEEDED him to but we don’t need him too. Either way both will be good players by the time they are done at Cuse

 

[CuseLegacy]

 

[Franz69]

Now listed at 6'6", 310 lbs.

 

[AngryOtto]

I believe he is an early enrollee. Be interesting to see how many commits will be early enrollees.

 

[Ttk.gman2]

I believe he is an early enrollee. Be interesting to see how many commits will be early enrollees.

Hopefully all of them

 

[anomander]

Just my humble opinion but he does not seem quick enough to play OT in the ACC.

 

[Ttk.gman2]

Just my humble opinion but he does not seem quick enough to play OT in the ACC.

In my opinion I think he will play Guard.

 

[anomander]

In my opinion I think he will play Guard.

He reminds me of the St. Thomas Aquino’s duo we got back with Shafer.

 

[Ttk.gman2]

He reminds me of the St. Thomas Aquino’s duo we got back with Shafer.

Great comparison

 

[anomander]

Great comparison

Hopefully i’m wrong. They never saw the field.

 

[Hawknate2]

I'm going to be honest here, I hope he ends up good, I also have tempered expectations, he's one of the lower rated guys in our class

 

[CuseLegacy]

Hopefully i’m wrong. They never saw the field.

Ano, your memory isn't serving you well. Byrne played, at least 10 games with 8 starts. Clausman not so much as he ended up DQed.

 

[anomander]

Ano, your memory isn't serving you well. Byrne played, at least 10 games with 8 starts. Clausman not so much as he ended up DQed.

Admittedly, my memory is a bit spotty, but 8 starts between the 2 in 8 years is pretty easy to forget, especially when the play was not memorable.

 

[CbusCuse]

I wasn’t going to respond to this thread anymore but that’s the thing. We are well aware of how good IMG is. It’s easily the most recruited and visited feeder program in the country. That’s why no matter how much i like Fran Brown, i just don’t think he’s so much better at evaluating talent that coaches who have been highly successful for decades aren’t able to identify someone even though he’s on their B team.

People have pumped up similar kids for the last 20 years and where has that got us. Our overall class rank for 2025 is 59th. That’s barely better than previously classes and a big drop from Fran’s great 2024 class that was 36th.

The IMG national roster OL for 2024 was pretty good. I am not sure him not making that team means he is a bad player.



If you know Fran Brown and how he does things at all, you know he has immense confidence in his ability to assess talent. He doesn’t care about recruiting services or offers from other schools.

I am sure he will screw up on some of his offers. Everyone does. Trying to project how young men are going to develop years into the future is hard and mistakes will be made.

I will take my chances with what Fran thinks.

I'm not exactly sure we knew this previously on this board. From this velocity article that came out in late July, Pickard moved up to the National team! That is pretty big. Not sure if he started, but being on the IMG top squad all year is nice! Great experience playing for one of the top teams in the country.

IMG’s Steven Pickard Jr. Makes Historic Leap to Top Team | Velocity Athlete

Also he has senior season hudl highlights out as of 5 days ago below.

Steven Pickard | Senior Season

 

[cuseallday]

I'm not exactly sure we knew this previously on this board. From this velocity article that came out in late July, Pickard moved up to the National team! That is pretty big. Not sure if he started, but being on the IMG top squad all year is nice! Great experience playing for one of the top teams in the country.

IMG’s Steven Pickard Jr. Makes Historic Leap to Top Team | Velocity Athlete

Also he has senior season hudl highlights out as of 5 days ago below.

Steven Pickard | Senior Season

Yep, Pickard is definitely on IMG's national team this season, which is fighting with the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore (hi, Maurice Medley), among others, for the No. 1 ranking this season!

 

[sutomcat]

Yep, Pickard is definitely on IMG's national team this season, which is fighting with the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore (hi, Maurice Medley), among others, for the No. 1 ranking this season!

And he is starting at right tackle.

At Syracuse, he will likely move to IOL but he is doing well as a starter for the number 1 team in the country. If you are good enough to start for IMG, you’re good enough to start for a P4 program. I don’t think there’s a better place for an offensive lineman prospect to develop at the high school level.