Class of 2014 RB Ish Witter (FL) Offered

[dollarbill44]

I won't be worked up even if we don't land a RB in this class. We have a solid stable of RBs for the next couple of years. If we whiff again next year, then I will be getting concerned, but with GMII and MacFarland both with 4 years remaining and Broyld with 3 years left, I think we have a little leeway as long as we can get a couple of guys next year who can be serviceable backs by their Soph years.

 

[Whitey23]

I won't be worked up even if we don't land a RB in this class. We have a solid stable of RBs for the next couple of years. If we whiff again next year, then I will be getting concerned, but with GMII and MacFarland both with 4 years remaining and Broyld with 3 years left, I think we have a little leeway as long as we can get a couple of guys next year who can be serviceable backs by their Soph years.

You think Broyld can play RB? What happens if GM2 or MacFarland get hurt?

 

[RMH44]

Jerome Smith was a big prospect coming out of high school, Bailey and Gulley are good players but they were never near the level of a Carter, Brinkley or Reyes. Gulley is a change of pace back who excelled at that position last year, the same for Bailey who didnt become a starter until his senior year and struggled to handle the grind of a full season. Both great players but lets not go overboard. I am not overly worried about the RB position but to say we always land our feet is simply not true. Go back to 06 when Brinkley went down and we were running out Paul Chiara and Hogue.

Jerome Smith was a 2-star, diamond in the rough that DM and staff mined out of the great fb state of DE. Fortunately, they closed the deal early and JS stayed true to his commitment.

Help me out here...are Bailey and Gulley "good" or "great" players? Diminishing their roles and achievements doesn't help your argument. Both are/were VERY important players within the framework of the offensive systems in which they played. As you mentioned, both are/were primarily "change of pace" backs used in special packages and to spell Carter and Smith. Btw, this is exactly the role that Witter is being recruited for.

Hopefully, with our transition into the ACC, we' ll never have to worry about the situations you described in 2006. In fact, I'm not sure why you'd bring up the darkest period of SU FB history to make your point. We all know that the circumstances that created the perfect storm that totally gutted the program have been corrected and, hopefully, can never happen again.

 

[JeremyCuse]

You think Broyld can play RB? What happens if GM2 or MacFarland get hurt?

Bingo, thats the point myself and a few others have been trying to make.

 

[tep624]

Smith came from a highschool that had been playing football for 3 years and had an offer from Wisconsin and another from BC coming when he committed. Wisconsin doesnt offer RB's that arent big time players.

He was a solid recruit but he was not the level of DC, Brinkley or Hogue for that matter.

 

[texascpa]

When Ish makes the comment not to take anything for granted, I inferred that to mean he was speaking to himself, not SU or Rutgers fans. If that's the case, then it would seem that something Ish thought was fact, was not. So, from there, there seems to be two solid possibilities in my mind:

1) He was going to pick Rutgers, but they said "hold off, we are waiting for another response first", or
2) He was going to pick SU, but they said "hold off, we are waiting for another response first"


Am I off base here?

 

[Whitey23]

When Ish makes the comment not to take anything for granted, I inferred that to mean he was speaking to himself, not SU or Rutgers fans. If that's the case, then it would seem that something Ish thought was fact, was not. So, from there, there seems to be two solid possibilities in my mind:

1) He was going to pick Rutgers, but they said "hold off, we are waiting for another response first", or
2) He was going to pick SU, but they said "hold off, we are waiting for another response first"


Am I off base here?

Cuse wouldn't say hold off because at this point we have zero RB commits and he is seemingly in the top tier of people they want.

 

[dollarbill44]

You think Broyld can play RB? What happens if GM2 or MacFarland get hurt?

Yes, I think Broyld can play RB. Injuries are a part of the game. If we get 2 guys in next year's class, I would hope one of them could be pressed into service. Lots of teams use freshman RBs in their rotation. Is it ideal? No, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a calamity.

My point is that we aren't at a critical, "do or die" point yet, imo. FWIW, I still think we end up with a decent RB in this year's class.

 

[texascpa]

Cuse wouldn't say hold off because at this point we have zero RB commits and he is seemingly in the top tier of people they want.

Agreed, but I didn't want to assume the first. What I was trying to get to was the meaning of his comment.

 

[RF2044]

Based on what we know from who has commitable offers and that SU has been in contact/visited its pretty clear the top RB recruits were Domer, Ollison, Erv Phillips and Ish Witter. I dont think its very likely Syracuse is involved with a couple of other high end RB prospects that we are keeping on the down low or a mystery to the fanbase for some reason. I understand what your saying about there being a lot of players out there nationwide but I think your whistling past the graveyard here a bit in saying that if we lose out on all those guys its no big deal we can just fill it with some guys out there nationally who compare to Witter and Domer. If such players were out there we would be recruiting them along with other Div 1 teams.

There is not a plethera of three + star RB recruits out there just waiting in the wings to be recruited if we miss out on our top targets. Again plenty of time left to see how things shake out and no need to panic at all but id still prefer we land Ish/Phillips.

My opinion only, but I couldn't care less about stars [which is what I think many posters get hung up upon]. Bailey / Smith / PTG are recent examples of quality RBs who were "only" two stars yet proved to be outstanding college players. Does it diminish Bailey's capabilities that he was a two star instead of a three star recruit? Does it matter that Bailey "only" had offers from Army / Navy, in terms of how that translated into his on-field production? Doug Hogue was a 4-star RB prospect, but couldn't even get on the field consistently until he switched positions.

Yes, I'd prefer to get more highly rated recruits. And I'm not worried about Witter, because I think there is still a very good chance we land him. But I think you are underestimating that we have a staff of strong recruiters--especially our OC--and I am confident that they will land players who are capable of excelling at SU. The RB position is not bare, and they WILL bring in a high quality prospect, whether it is Witter, Domer, Philips, or some other player who's name we aren't familiar with right now.

I'd be a lot more worried if this were January and we were having the same discussion, instead of August 1st.

 

[Whitey23]

Yes, I think Broyld can play RB. Injuries are a part of the game. If we get 2 guys in next year's class, I would hope one of them could be pressed into service. Lots of teams use freshman RBs in their rotation. Is it ideal? No, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a calamity.

My point is that we aren't at a critical, "do or die" point yet, imo. FWIW, I still think we end up with a decent RB in this year's class.

Broyld has shown nothing to make me think he can play RB. If he wasn't a local guy nobody would know who he was at this point. The other 2 have yet to take a snap in a game. I'm concerned about depth next year but you never know Jerome could come back and save the day.

 

[Rocco]

Reminder only: a commitment in August means nothing. A signed LOI in February means everything.

 

[Frozen]

Reminder only: a commitment in August means nothing. A signed LOI in February means everything.

Unless the kid does not qualify. In that case, a signed LOI plus actually matriculating in August means more.

 

[retro44]

In both of those players defense if not injuries (Sheeran) and a complete beatdown of hits (robinson) those careers may have ended differently. I see your point though.

sheeran regretted leaving Syracuse and came back to visit old teammates often

 

[money3189]

Am I the only one who is not overly impressed with Phillips . Ive watched his highlights at least 10 times to see if Im missing something. I like his elusiveness and quickness but I am not as high on him as others. He is a B lister at best. I think the staff thinks the same, that's why he s holding off on his commitment IMO

 

[Shaggy]

Am I the only one who is not overly impressed with Phillips . Ive watched his highlights at least 10 times to see if Im missing something. I like his elusiveness and quickness but I am not as high on him as others. He is a B lister at best. I think the staff thinks the same, that's why he s holding off on his commitment IMO

Think you are right also.

 

[Shaggy]

Broyld has shown nothing to make me think he can play RB. If he wasn't a local guy nobody would know who he was at this point. The other 2 have yet to take a snap in a game. I'm concerned about depth next year but you never know Jerome could come back and save the day.

I think Broyld will be a fine contributor on offense and one of our best freak athletes over the next three years.

 

[retro44]

Am I the only one who is not overly impressed with Phillips . Ive watched his highlights at least 10 times to see if Im missing something. I like his elusiveness and quickness but I am not as high on him as others. He is a B lister at best. I think the staff thinks the same, that's why he s holding off on his commitment IMO

play nice here, he's still a kid and a recruit...not just you, but everyone

 

[CuseLegacy]

1. Cortavious Givens ‏@CGivensTimez7 1h
2. @rashaanish21 you still ain't pick yet bro ?

1. ish witter ‏@rashaanish21 17m
   @CGivensTimez7 nah bro, ima wait it out a lil

 

[bnoro]

Worst case scenario, to cover for the potential early departure of Jerome, would be to take the Locke kid form Nassau.

Completely pointless. Would create a logjam where we have 3 running backs with the same eligibility. We need a few RB's that can come in and redshirt and be ready to back up GMII and Run-DMC when they are both R-Jrs.

 

[RMH44]

Completely pointless. Would create a logjam where we have 3 running backs with the same eligibility. We need a few RB's that can come in and redshirt and be ready to back up GMII and Run-DMC when they are both R-Jrs.

The Locke kid would be a junior while GMIII and DM would be sophs. Makes perfect sense if needed.

 

[Doctor44]

Having Augustus Edwards and Laray Smith woulda been nice

 

[Jeepers]

Having Augustus Edwards and Laray Smith woulda been nice

Still bummed about Laray.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Having Augustus Edwards and Laray Smith woulda been nice

Do we need a fullback?

 

[Doctor44]

Do we need a fullback?

Miami recruited him as such. His high school tape showed that he had the potential to be like delone carter, jerome smith or ron dayne - a bigger guy who could be the featured back