They will continue to do so. We hopefully get more in the future (even as a guy who scoffs at the star system, I'm happy to grab all the 4/5 star guys we can get). But the vast majority of every class we sign for the foreseeable future is going to be these 3-star kids. The key is getting the right ones. Are we doing that? I don't know. I'm inclined to trust what's going on with this staff, but whether they are or not, that will be the key. Along with getting a bit creative -- a key 5th-year here and there, a strong presence in the transfer market, maybe the odd juco or two ... Never say never, but we are really going to have to establish something really special to start turning heads of big name dudes who have offers from the big boys.
I really like your post and agree with you. The question i have always had is why is it every other team in the ACC can get 4 star and higher rated players and classes than Syracuse? To make this sentiment PC for this page I will say the other ACC teams are consistently getting players with much much much better offers. Even after our upset of Clemson 2 years ago and great year last year the likes of NC, NCST, Louisville, GT and even UVA and Duke are getting better players by every single metric including and perhaps MOST IMPORTANTLY QUALITY OFFERS!!!! It seems our coaches are still getting commits from MAC type players, while the other ACC teams are fighting for Power 5 players.
Just look at the offers for our recruits. Below
Robert Hanna - S (Verbal)
Miami, FL - Palmetto HS
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date *** 6/22/19; Current Rating 6/22/19 ***
Major (10)- SU, BC, Louisville, Miami, Maryland, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Washington St.
Mid Major (8) - Bowling Green, FAU, Liberty, Southern Miss, UAB, UCF, USF, Western Kentucky
Class of 2020 - S Robert Hanna (FL) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (6/22/19)
Charles Bell IV - DB (Verbal)
Gaithersburg, MD - Quince Orchard HS
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date *** 6/22/19; Current Rating 6/22/19 ***
Major (6)- SU, BC, Maryland, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech
Mid Major (5) - East Carolina, Liberty, Temple, Toledo, UMASS
Class of 2020 - DB Charles Bell IV (MD) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (6/22/19)
Justin Barron - ATH (Verbal)
Suffield, CT - Suffield Academy
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date *** 6/16/19; Current Rating 6/16/19 ***
Major (5)- SU, BC, Pitt, Rutgers, Virgina
Mid Major (6) - Air Force, FIU, Navy, Southern Miss, UCONN
Class of 2020 - ATH Justin Barron (CT) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (6/16/19)
Leon Lowery - DE (Verbal)
North Brunswick, NJ - North Brunswick HS
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date *** 6/16/19; Current Rating 6/16/19 ***
Major (4)- SU, Indiana, Rutgers, Virginia Tech
Mid Major (4) - Buffalo, Central Michigan, Temple, UMASS
Class of 2020 - DE Leon Lowery (NJ) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (6/16/19)
Sean Tucker - RB (Verbal)
Towson, MD - Calvert Hall College HS
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date N/A 4/13/19; Current Rating 6/16/19 ***
Major (3)- SU, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Mid Major (2) - Air Force, Kent St.
Class of 2020 - RB Sean Tucker (MD) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (4/13/19)
Stefon Thompson - LB (Verbal)
Charlotte, NC - Zebulon B. Vance HS
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date *** 6/21/19; Current Rating 6/21/19 ***
Major (2)- SU, Wisconsin
Mid Major (13) - App. St., Akron, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Colorado St., Georgia Southern, Georgia St., Liberty, Marshall, Ohio, Southern Miss, UMASS, Western Kentucky
Class of 2020 - LB Stefon Thompson (NC) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (6/21/19)
Garth Barclay - OT (Verbal)
York, PA - York Suburban
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date *** 6/19/19; Current Rating 6/19/19 ***
Major (2)- SU, Virginia
Mid Major (8) - Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, ODU, Temple, Toledo, UCONN, UMASS
Class of 2020 - OL Garth Barclay (PA) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (6/19/19)
Marlowe Wax - RB (Verbal)
Baltimore, MD - Mount Saint Joseph HS
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date *** 4/14/19; Current Rating 6/16/19 ***
Major (2)- SU, Pittsburgh
Mid Major (5) - East Carolina, Kent St, Marshall, Temple, Toledo
Class of 2020 - RB Marlowe Wax Jr (MD) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (4/14/19)
Kevin Lemieux - DE (Verbal)
Byfield, MA - The Governor's Academy
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date *** 3/24/19; Current Rating 6/16/19 ***
Major (2)- SU, Rutgers
Mid Major (2) - Army, UMASS
Class of 2020 - DE Kevin Lemieux (MA) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (3/24/19)
James Williams - K/P (Verbal)
Athens, GA - Athens Academy
2-4-7 Rating at Commit Date NR 6/19/19; Current Rating 6/19/19 NR
Major (1)- SU
Mid Major (3) - Air Force, Army, Hawaii
Class of 2020 - P/K James Williams (GA) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (6/19/19)
Syracuse finished last season at #15 in the country. We have just 1 recruit that the 14 teams that finished ahead of us even offered. 1 kid and thats Robert Hanna and the 1 offer was from Wash ST. And we cant say HCDB doesnt want the higher ranked players because they are offering the highest amount of recruits in the country. Outside of Hanna,Barron and Bell we beat out a bunch of MAC or lower teams and or 1 or 2 low power 5 teams for these recruits. We have a bunch of recruits with 4 or less power conference offers and most of those are from Power 5 teams with losing records. In fact if you look at all of Babers classes its been pretty similiar. 3-4Power 5 type recruits and the rest MAC/AAC type recruits. I guess people will say "hidden gems" found by Babers. Babers has a great offensive scheme that I hope can carry us but WE HAVE to step it up in recruiting. I am not on here to bash or defend HCDB but simply to look at what we have. And by any metric its not top 25 worthy. The fact that NC NCST GT UVA DUKE PITT all have better recruits BASED ON OFFERS is a big red flag. But HCDB still has time to pull in 4 or 5 ACC type recruits so lets hope they get it done.