Class of 2015 - S Marquise Blair (OH) Committed and signed to Utah | Page 2 | Syracusefan.com

Class of 2015 S Marquise Blair (OH) Committed and signed to Utah

Nice size and speed. Pretty surprised that more schools didn't offer and I have a feeling that he will be of higher demand once he shows what he can do this fall. SU needs guys like this that can cover and close on those big FSU/Clemson WR's. Welcome to the Hill Mr. Blair!
 
If his academics were in better standing he would have more offers. Cross your fingers that he qualifies because this kid is a stud
 
If his academics were in better standing he would have more offers. Cross your fingers that he qualifies because this kid is a stud

Ah...the grades issue, that makes sense.
 
I'm not insinuating the "grade issue" is smoke and mirrors, but I find it interesting that SU, which has reportedly higher admissions standards than most schools, would take a chance on "grade issue" kid, but no other schools would.
 
I'm not insinuating the "grade issue" is smoke and mirrors, but I find it interesting that SU, which has reportedly higher admissions standards than most schools, would take a chance on "grade issue" kid, but no other schools would.

we don't have higher admission standards. that's an urban legend.
 
I'm not insinuating the "grade issue" is smoke and mirrors, but I find it interesting that SU, which has reportedly higher admissions standards than most schools, would take a chance on "grade issue" kid, but no other schools would.

My best guess is that the selector schools back off those kids until they have their grades are in order. They are also confident they can swoop in and get the kid such as an Ohio St might in this case.
 
I'm not insinuating the "grade issue" is smoke and mirrors, but I find it interesting that SU, which has reportedly higher admissions standards than most schools, would take a chance on "grade issue" kid, but no other schools would.

This is what happened with Jonathon Thomas a year ago, he was going to Oklahoma, that was an absolute done deal. But OU wasn't sure he could make the grades, as an "almost" selector school, OU doesn't have to take chances on kids who might not make the grades, so ultimately they decided not to. HCSS and the Orange staff made the decision that we would take him, and felt confident who could make it. Ultimately he did qualify and is starting practice in the next few days.

It may or may not be the same situation with Blair. You can definitely look to see that Shy Cullen's situation is pretty similar to Thomas in that his father kept hearing offers weren't coming because schools were nervous about the grades.

Right now we aren't in a situation to pass on top talent that wants to come here simply because a kid might not make the grades. Right now, those are the kids with top tier talent that we can get interested in us, simply because not many other high profile schools are willing to take the chances on them.
 
This is what happened with Jonathon Thomas a year ago, he was going to Oklahoma, that was an absolute done deal. But OU wasn't sure he could make the grades, as an "almost" selector school, OU doesn't have to take chances on kids who might not make the grades, so ultimately they decided not to. HCSS and the Orange staff made the decision that we would take him, and felt confident who could make it. Ultimately he did qualify and is starting practice in the next few days.

It may or may not be the same situation with Blair. You can definitely look to see that Shy Cullen's situation is pretty similar to Thomas in that his father kept hearing offers weren't coming because schools were nervous about the grades.

Right now we aren't in a situation to pass on top talent that wants to come here simply because a kid might not make the grades. Right now, those are the kids with top tier talent that we can get interested in us, simply because not many other high profile schools are willing to take the chances on them.
It is, he's a current non-qualifier.
 
This is what happened with Jonathon Thomas a year ago, he was going to Oklahoma, that was an absolute done deal. But OU wasn't sure he could make the grades, as an "almost" selector school, OU doesn't have to take chances on kids who might not make the grades, so ultimately they decided not to. HCSS and the Orange staff made the decision that we would take him, and felt confident who could make it. Ultimately he did qualify and is starting practice in the next few days.

It may or may not be the same situation with Blair. You can definitely look to see that Shy Cullen's situation is pretty similar to Thomas in that his father kept hearing offers weren't coming because schools were nervous about the grades.

Right now we aren't in a situation to pass on top talent that wants to come here simply because a kid might not make the grades. Right now, those are the kids with top tier talent that we can get interested in us, simply because not many other high profile schools are willing to take the chances on them.

That makes sense. It seems contradictory, but put your way, it makes it seem like the plausible scenario.
 
This is what happened with Jonathon Thomas a year ago, he was going to Oklahoma, that was an absolute done deal. But OU wasn't sure he could make the grades, as an "almost" selector school, OU doesn't have to take chances on kids who might not make the grades, so ultimately they decided not to. HCSS and the Orange staff made the decision that we would take him, and felt confident who could make it. Ultimately he did qualify and is starting practice in the next few days.

It may or may not be the same situation with Blair. You can definitely look to see that Shy Cullen's situation is pretty similar to Thomas in that his father kept hearing offers weren't coming because schools were nervous about the grades.

Right now we aren't in a situation to pass on top talent that wants to come here simply because a kid might not make the grades. Right now, those are the kids with top tier talent that we can get interested in us, simply because not many other high profile schools are willing to take the chances on them.

Historically this is how we've managed to bring in a lot of top end talent. We have always benefitted from the factory schools being in a position to pass on a kid that is an academic concern. It is an easy way for us to snag some very talented players with little to no fight. Then even if they have to prep it gives us a leg up in their recruitment since we were the only ones loyal to them. Blair definitely seems to be a 30+ offer type of kid. 6'3 190lb strong safeties that run 4.47's don't exactly grow on trees. In Shafer's first 2 classes we've got Corey Cooper, Jonathan Thomas, Juwan Dowels, and Michael Lasker (fully qualified JC kid, who we creatively recruited after Fr season). Those 4 right there would have racked up some serious P5 offers if they weren't a concern to qualify. To a lesser extent you could have thrown in Erv Phillips, and Trevon Prater. We've taken risks on these types of kids for years, and will continue to do so. I know of 3 kids right now in the 2015 class who are currently not qualified. It is also a reason why we will probably take close to a full class .
 
Historically this is how we've managed to bring in a lot of top end talent. We have always benefitted from the factory schools being in a position to pass on a kid that is an academic concern. It is an easy way for us to snag some very talented players with little to no fight. Then even if they have to prep it gives us a leg up in their recruitment since we were the only ones loyal to them. Blair definitely seems to be a 30+ offer type of kid. 6'3 190lb strong safeties that run 4.47's don't exactly grow on trees. In Shafer's first 2 classes we've got Corey Cooper, Jonathan Thomas, Juwan Dowels, and Michael Lasker (fully qualified JC kid, who we creatively recruited after Fr season). Those 4 right there would have racked up some serious P5 offers if they weren't a concern to qualify. To a lesser extent you could have thrown in Erv Phillips, and Trevon Prater. We've taken risks on these types of kids for years, and will continue to do so. I know of 3 kids right now in the 2015 class who are currently not qualified. It is also a reason why we will probably take close to a full class .

Thomas did get serious P5 attention late ... he could have bailed on Cuse but stuck with us. We will be very glad he did.
 
Thomas did get serious P5 attention late ... he could have bailed on Cuse but stuck with us. We will be very glad he did.

That's the shadowy gray thing about our recruiting - unless one of our kids physically visits another school or flips late, we rarely hear about who is after them late in the process. The questions just don't get asked, Franklin was one of the exceptions last year, he was asked about it in a later interview and he did receive 4 or 5 major scholarships after he committed to Syracuse.
 
Thomas did get serious P5 attention late ... he could have bailed on Cuse but stuck with us. We will be very glad he did.

Who came at Thomas late? He wanted OU but they jerked him around until he finally got sick of it. Some schools had him as a back up, but i'm not sure he had a solid offer on the table?
 
Per twitter...
Marquise Blair is now a 3-star prospect, 24th best player in Ohio and 33rd best safety in 2015.

Now that's what I like to see. I love the kids tape and am holding on hope that he qualifies. I think taking a shot on Blair despite his grades is a good decision because if he makes it up on the hill, we might have a game changing player on D.
 
I'm surprised we got this kid
 
well he just got ranked and grades are a big issue. not THAT surprising.
No I know, just excited to see this class
 
Who came at Thomas late? He wanted OU but they jerked him around until he finally got sick of it. Some schools had him as a back up, but i'm not sure he had a solid offer on the table?

My understanding is that while he had no firm offers a couple SEC teams attempted to gauge his interest ... middle of the pack, not talking Bama but name schools none the less. But you are right no solid offer but some sniffing was done for sure.
 
That's the shadowy gray thing about our recruiting - unless one of our kids physically visits another school or flips late, we rarely hear about who is after them late in the process. The questions just don't get asked, Franklin was one of the exceptions last year, he was asked about it in a later interview and he did receive 4 or 5 major scholarships after he committed to Syracuse.

That and some don't get the offers because they stick with their commitment and say thanks but no thanks.
 
That and some don't get the offers because they stick with their commitment and say thanks but no thanks.

I'm fairly certain that's what happened with Nasean Howard last year [as an example of your point].
 
Stephen Bailey ‏@Stephen_Bailey1 26m26 minutes ago
Syracuse commit Marquise Blair took an official visit this weekend and is working hard to qualify academically: http://bit.ly/1G7eX7y


"Academically, Blair has become a more dedicated student in the classroom and with his standardized testing preparation, Haas said. Haas expressed his pride toward Blair's academic improvement, and said that the safety will continue to work hard until the end of the semester.
"We still have some work to do, there's no doubt about that," Haas said, "but it's one of those things where we've put together a plan. It was put together last January, when the offer was first extended. He's made some great progress in the classroom and on standardized testing.
"... I'm confident that we will meet the (NCAA) Clearinghouse standards."
 
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