Class of 2014 Two biggest areas to watch moving forward.

[anomander]

To me the two biggest story lines that will play out over the next 6-7 months, will be who we can land at the O line and RB positions. Its funny usually the QB position is where SU is scrambling for recruiting, but with 2 solid recruits last year and Long this year we couldnt be in better shape.

As for RB and OL I have heard some rumblings/concerns from a few people, nothing to serious and certainly nothing to panic about, but some legit concern. At this point I was hoping we would have at least 1 OL commit, unfortunately we have lost out on a couple guys we were pretty high on and a few others we had high on our board. We still have a few irons in the fire but Applefield is a long shot and I wouldnt hold my breath on Mavesty either. I think we will see a lot of names pop up this fall of recruits who aren't on our radar right now. We need to bring in at least 3 lineman, JUCO maybe the way to go here.

Regarding the RB situation I would have zero concern except for the fact that we brough in zero RB recruits last year. Redshirting Morris and Macfarlane was a huge help but when you miss a year you need to double your haul the next season to ensure depth and a pipeline as players graduate. I like Ish's tape but its hard to gauge where he may end up. Erv Phillips seems like a Cuse lean but I dont like when a player stretches his recruitment out like this when he doenst have a lot of big time offers, this has all the hallmarks of him looking for either a bigger offer or a specific school. Ollison is a crapshoot as well, we are definitely in it but like Ish I think were more likely to be the bridesmaid then the bride. This situation shoudl clear itself up in the next 2-3 weeks, again will be interesting to see where the staff goes if we miss out on Ish and Ollison.

I think we are perfectly fine at RB. Morris and McFarland being rFR definitely helps, but we still need to bring in 2 this year, and will eventually. Ish Witter is in the bag, mark it down right now. He will be 1, and then hopefully Ollison. I think he is more of a crap shoot, but I think we are in good position. I really want him to be the other RB, but if not that's really not a position we should have trouble getting someone. There are a few like Boyd who are plan B's. As for Phillips I know the staff really wanted him, and pushed for a commitment when he visited. I think he is getting some bad guidance from reading the article about him in the Register.

I am with you with the OL concern. We have missed out on a lot of our top options. Applefield isn't going to happen, and Mavety will be tough. I also don't feel going the JC route is the answer this year. Look at the make up of our roster. We will have 3 sophmore starters, 1 JR, and 1 SR. We can't bring in another JC and have no OL underclassmen other then our 2 projects Burton and McGolster. Knapp and Emerich are viable options, but we need more then 2. I definitely think we need to bring in at least 2 HS tackles to hopefully go along with Aaron Roberts.

The 1 spot I feel we are dangerously thin at is DE. The cupboard is pretty bare though. I am hoping Ron Thompson has a breakout year, but nobody knows how that will work out. I do have a good feeling, but it's still a lot of hope. I would like to see them target a couple DE's later this fall, even if we have to go the JC route for an impact recruit at that position.

I think the staff has done a great job at targeting the positions they felt they needed to the most. We brought in 4 strong LBer prospects and are looking pretty good with Sykes, who could be the best of the bunch. KJ, and Cooper are a great start to the WRT position, and the defensive backfield looks like it will sort itself out as well.

 

[tep624]

I think we are perfectly fine at RB. Morris and McFarland being rFR definitely helps, but we still need to bring in 2 this year, and will eventually. Ish Witter is in the bag, mark it down right now. He will be 1, and then hopefully Ollison. I think he is more of a crap shoot, but I think we are in good position. I really want him to be the other RB, but if not that's really not a position we should have trouble getting someone. There are a few like Boyd who are plan B's. As for Phillips I know the staff really wanted him, and pushed for a commitment when he visited. I think he is getting some bad guidance from reading the article about him in the Register.

I am with you with the OL concern. We have missed out on a lot of our top options. Applefield isn't going to happen, and Mavety will be tough. I also don't feel going the JC route is the answer this year. Look at the make up of our roster. We will have 3 sophmore starters, 1 JR, and 1 SR. We can't bring in another JC and have no OL underclassmen other then our 2 projects Burton and McGolster. Knapp and Emerich are viable options, but we need more then 2. I definitely think we need to bring in at least 2 HS tackles to hopefully go along with Aaron Roberts.

The 1 spot I feel we are dangerously thin at is DE. The cupboard is pretty bare though. I am hoping Ron Thompson has a breakout year, but nobody knows how that will work out. I do have a good feeling, but it's still a lot of hope. I would like to see them target a couple DE's later this fall, even if we have to go the JC route for an impact recruit at that position.

I think the staff has done a great job at targeting the positions they felt they needed to the most. We brought in 4 strong LBer prospects and are looking pretty good with Sykes, who could be the best of the bunch. KJ, and Cooper are a great start to the WRT position, and the defensive backfield looks like it will sort itself out as well.

EO, Malik Brown and Gus sure would have helped with that depth chart :bang:

 

[anomander]

EO, Malik Brown and Gus sure would have helped with that depth chart :bang:

especially Malik Brown. He could have played immediately

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Being called a Syracuse.com poster is the slur of this board.

Might as well call him a Rutgers fan.

 

[Shaggy]

Agreed, i like the fact we could have him play rb.

No way he plays running back, the kid is a hitter and wants to play defense and he will be a great SU player. Maybe the safety or free safety role.

 

[gocraz4dasu]

I'm more worried about offensive lineman due to the fact I have no knowledge on how Perles' abilities to coach players up. That was the most impressive thing about the previous staff, in my opinion. I'm not knocking Perles, I just genuinely have no idea if he can continue that success. If he can, then I won't be too terribly worried about getting the heavily recruited OL because the previous raw O-lineman we have, like Burton and such, will pan out. That said, I have no idea if that success will continue so I'm a little more worried about picking up talented lineman.

I'm not remotely worried about runningbacks. They are a dime a dozen outside of the truly talented athletes that grace the position. Regardless, I think we get either Whitter or Ollison, for some reason I don't forsee us getting both. I'm confident in Phillips committing to SU.

 

[syr02esq]

RBs are easier to find then OLs. OLs are where we need to focus our attention this year.

 

[Rocco]

Guys, relax. Everything will be ok.

 

[RMH44]

Guys, relax. Everything will be ok.

Inside information...or that good ole' Rocco intuition?

 

[Rocco]

Inside information...or that good ole' Rocco intuition?

My intuition is my inside information.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Guys, relax. Everything will be ok.

I dont see anyone panicking or freaking out.

 

[RMH44]

My intuition is my inside information.

Lol...mine too.

Intuition is far easier to interpret when you're not dodging objects falling from the sky. ;-)

 

[Rocco]

I dont see anyone panicking or freaking out.

Didn't really say that, I just told people to relax. Relax as in enjoy the summer and let shafer, mcdonald and white man the recruiting ship.

 

[Camillus]

I dont see anyone panicking or freaking out.

Le freak, say sheik! (Hah! Stuck in your head yet?)