Recruiting in 2025 and Beyond Discussion

[anomander]

"George McDonald super recruiter"

Never my label. I always said he was overrated …., shockingly to negative comments saying otherwise

 

[anomander]

What is your reference to state that most teams are brining in 15-20 transfers per year? The teams at the top of the portal rankings generally are, but I did not see a list of numbers for all teams.
Are you weighting losses to the portal against the number of players bright in?

George McDonald? Seriously?

it’s not hard to search . take a look

 

[Trueblue25]

Donors/war chest are trending in the right direction. Fran’s seeking more deals with local businesses to help with that right now but all in all improving.

Sending players to the NFL draft is the next step that will help.

We need to be competitive against next years schedule.

Lets not forget how much of an uphill battle Fran’s embraced.

 

[richmondcuse03]

Cherry picking? Maybe you haven’t been paying attention but most schools have 15-20+ transfers per class these last 2 years. Minimum 10 - 15. So why wouldn’t you factor transfer rankings into the overall class ranking considering those now include 1/3 - 1/2 transfers? Nobody said anything in 2024 when our transfer haul helped us to an overall 36 ranking. I was celebrating along with everyone else.

The ironic thing is when everyone was all about pounding the portal 2-3 years ago i also had a very unpopular take saying we will always have a hard time being successful in the portal because we can’t compete financially. No matter what Fran said about recruiting high schoolers don’t you think he factored that into the equation? We’re basically doing what we have to, which runs a risk of losing the HS kids that we do develop because you’re going to be recruiting them for 3 years. I like Fran as much as anyone but it’s going to be a risk long-term. That’s not even to mention, even Clemson, who routinely had high school recruiting classes jam packed with some of best prospects in the country suddenly begin to struggle because peer schools and below started to utilize plug and play transfers. One of the best coaches and recruiters in the country for well over a decade started to get heat using that same strategy and their program is a level above ours.

Other than that it’s almost like people have amnesia or maybe selective amnesia. We’ve had our George McDonald “super” recruiters (yea i’m being sarcastic) come and go. Sure i like Fran a ton more than him but at the time everyone was beating the same exact drum on trust the staff. I hope i’m wrong more than anyone, and it will come down to player development, but even if we fully develop half our class and then hang onto them for 3-4 years, i’ll still trade you these classes full of 3 stars and i’ll go ahead and take the programs that consistently finish inside the top 25-30 with a classes close to half full of 4stars. Like everyone says, it’s easy to identify the kids who have the height, weight, speed, etc. You develop them and you have a handful or more of future pro’s.

And for the record, my 2 favorite recruits in the 2025 class are our 0 star Canadians.

You proved my point by citing George Macdonald. I personally think we’re not alive long enough to dwell in pessimism every day. To each their own. I just hope you’re donating to fix the problems you’re citing.

 

[Niastri]

Lets not forget how much of an uphill battle Fran’s embraced.

Fran knew what he was getting into, and I love the way you phrased it.

He's off to a good start!

 

[wfschrec]

it’s not hard to search . take a look

A few salient points here:

a.) not all teams are loading up in the portal:
OSU has 6 (they will have a lot of guys leaving from their core team)
Oregon has 9
Miami has 11
FSU has 9
Alabama has 9
UGA has 6
Clemson has 3

The fact is have we considered the talent volume in the portal isn't there for us to go heavy? We are losing our minds over guys that were at Central Connecticut who chose Maryland? I think Fran is being very deliberate managing cost vs what these guys are worth and comparing that to what he has on his roster. Why shell out excessive NIL when you have a player close in capability already on roster? Sorry but there is no Kyle McCord or Cam Ward in this transfer class, if that is what you are expecting then I think you will be disappointed. Fran has also stated he wants to avoid players of certain types (i.e. a 1 year that isn't a pro caliber player) and locking up a scholly he can use on extra kids out of high school he can identify and develop. IMHO those types will be easier to retain because they are a culture fit not just a plug and play rental.

The continued predicate that you lean into about 20 years of history would only matter if this was the same staff over that time period and the fact is that it isn't. There is no McCord, Junkins, Downs, Ward or players of that caliber in this transfer class the top guys don't have their pedigree. Last year 5 teams had an average at or above 90 on their transfer class, this year its only 3. The depth isn't there so why load up on guys that you could replace with high school kids with better measurables and higher upside? Is there a potential for more downside? Sure, but to your point we have kids unranked that you are high on (Canada kids) and have a ton of upside that will surprise folks IMHO. Will every recruit be a home run? No but sometimes taking more swings means more hits, recruiting is no different. Rahtrel Perry was not on anyone's recruiting radar coming out of high school and is now a hot commodity, who is to say Fran hasn't brought in kids like that who fit well in this culture and will pay massive dividends down the road? When Instagram legend Carson Beck is the top QB in the transfer class you need to question how good it really is.

 

[PhatOrange]

IMG White team schedule.

Schedule - IMG Academy White Ascenders (Bradenton, FL) Varsity Football 24-25

View the 24-25 IMG Academy White varsity football team schedule.

www.maxpreps.com

Scouting and evaluating absolutely matters and not every evaluator is created equally. I see big differences in opinions even at the youth, HS and club levels. It's fascinating really to see who ends up right in their Eval. It's easy to evaluate a sure thing, but it's not easy when a sure thing is lazy and doesn't work hard vs a kid with lesser skill who's a grinder.

We're a couple years away from knowing how good our evaluators are.

IMO we swim in a different pool and we just have to make sure we're bringing in kids that are better than our peer group.

 

[upperdeck]

You dont always have to get better kids. But you need to get kids close enough that you max them out more consistently.

4 stars who don't play to 4 star level dont help anyone. A team of 3 stars that all play up as a team can play better than a team of 4 stars who don't all show up.

The first step is to improve your bottom line and that we are doing. Kids are bigger/stronger/faster. We need a few years to see if that plays out in results

 

[SuFTW]

it’s not hard to search . take a look

The portal giveth and the portal taketh. You can’t just look at one side of the equation.

 

[baggerbob]

Fran wants to build a developmental program with the freshman growing into starting roles as upperclassmen and picking at the transfer portal as needed.

I think people need to understand how bare the cupboard was for him to execute his developmental program and why he needed 35 freshman bodies and measurables.

Towards the end of Dino's tenure, his classes either had freshman make immediate impacts, but stagnate developmentally or had players that couldn't get to the (2) deep. Just look at the 23 and 24 classes, not a lot of clay to be molded and the (35) players in the '25 class raise the floor of the roster, especially on the lines. True grown men frames going at each other each day in practice.

One of the best OL players in recent memory was a 2 star with small arms. Pickard is a good get at this stage of the calendar. He has his end of the bargain to maintain this fall by continuing to improve and showing out on the A team.

Plus remember if the new rules go through its 105 on scholarship, that's an additional 20 players you are adding.

 

[kcsu]

Call me crazy, but I never buy the "our staff is better at evaluating talent" than yours. Fran is a great recruiter no doubt but those putting all their cards in the " the measurables are all better" and that Fran is some type of savant when it comes to evaluating talent, I am sorry I just don't buy it. He may be very good at it but so are many others on different staffs. What he is doing is hitting the right areas and offering a lot more Northeast kids and just like any other coach at Syracuse how well will he develops these kids is where the rubber will meet the road. He also took what 35 kids in this class he can afford a few more misses here

On paper anyone singing who is ecstatic with the 2025 recruiting class is just glazing Fran as my kids would say. I thought Fran would do better, I thought there would be more pop and sizzle. Sorry but the limitations at Syracuse are still there even with arguably the best recruiter in college football. The nice thing is Fran doesn't ever use it as an excuse

He has already proven he can develop talent. Name one returning player that didn't get better. Look what he accomplished with Meeks.
The Oline was much better.
Low rated Frosh stepping up on the DL and secondary.
He knows how to identify kids that fit his culture and have good measurable. Big and fast.

 

[RF2044]

Call me crazy, but I never buy the "our staff is better at evaluating talent" than yours. Fran is a great recruiter no doubt but those putting all their cards in the " the measurables are all better" and that Fran is some type of savant when it comes to evaluating talent, I am sorry I just don't buy it. He may be very good at it but so are many others on different staffs. What he is doing is hitting the right areas and offering a lot more Northeast kids and just like any other coach at Syracuse how well will he develops these kids is where the rubber will meet the road. He also took what 35 kids in this class he can afford a few more misses here

On paper anyone singing who is ecstatic with the 2025 recruiting class is just glazing Fran as my kids would say. I thought Fran would do better, I thought there would be more pop and sizzle. Sorry but the limitations at Syracuse are still there even with arguably the best recruiter in college football. The nice thing is Fran doesn't ever use it as an excuse

Completely fair take.

We saw Fran and this new staff of recruiters come out of the gate smokin' hot, with lots of high profile transfers [predicated upon the incoming staff's relationships, as you point out, from other schools].

So from that standpoint, the 2025 class might seem like a letdown. We took lots of early commitments, from a lot of players who weren't highly rated. And we took lots of linemen on both sides of the ball -- which at a school like Syracuse, we tend to get lower rated guys compared to higher rated programs.

Will a majority of those guys pan out? Time will tell.

But I get some of the "disappointment" with the class of 2025. It doesn't mean that the "disappointment" is warranted, however. Fran has an archetype of recruits that he focuses on -- and he went and got guys that fit what he was looking for [examples -- big time speed, massive OL, etc.]. If the class pans out, then his talent identification will get validated.

It's also important to note that we needed to bolster the FOUNDATION of the program at several positions of need. Unsexy, but the type of additions that could position us for consistent success down the road / long-term.

Ultimately, we need to have sustained, consistent success. If we do, then we'll recruit better. Because success begats success.

 

[anomander]

You proved my point by citing George Macdonald. I personally think we’re not alive long enough to dwell in pessimism every day. To each their own. I just hope you’re donating to fix the problems you’re citing.

Every month. And apparently you missed the sarcasm font on George McDonald.

Not to mention, if you think I dwell on this stuff then i don’t know what to tell you? I have a family, job, and life. This is simply entertainment at the end of it. If i come on a syracuse sports forum a couple times a day to express my opinion on the one program i love that’s all that it is. Other than the 30 minutes i have to read some articles and catch up on the forum it’s left there as soon as i close the browser. Pretty bizarre to think elsewise.