Analysis: What Syracuse is Getting in Quan Peterson
Are you looking for the inside scoop on Syracuse football recruiting? Subscribe to All Syracuse, with in-depth and exclusive information brought to you by Mike McAllister, a name you can trust and his staff. Subscribe today and get the first month of an annual membership for just $1, or a full annual membership at an almost 20% discount!
Syracuse picked up a commitment from Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe cornerback Quan Peterson on Sunday. SI All-American's John Garcia Jr. likes the fit for Peterson within the Orange's 3-3-5 defensive scheme.
"You love the two sport status with a guy like Peterson," Garcia Jr. said. "Especially when he's good at the secondary sport. It's good to have multiple sports on your resume, but are you actually an excellent athlete at that other sport. He is on the basketball court. That will make Syracuse fans pretty happy. This is a defensive back all day long, but you see the basketball skills translate. You mention the frame, 6-foot-1, very, very long. Comfortable with the football in the air. It sounds so simple, but for defensive backs who make plays on said football, that is a huge trait. It's easy to get pass interferences, easy to get handsy and grabby. This is a comfortable athlete who understands what he can and can't do even when the ball is in the air.
"He creates a lot of interceptions, a lot of turnovers, a lot of passes broken up at the high school level. He's also a very good overall athlete. You mention the basketball, he's also an offensive player flashing in the return game with the ball in his hands. So he might remind you a little bit of an Andre Cisco. I do think that Cisco was much more polished coming out of IMG Academy than Peterson is. But the physical foundation is there. The overall athleticism and length, two things you cannot teach are there. Every defensive coordinator wants lengthy DBs on their roster to combat these 50-50 balls. To combat these jump balls, almost, that a lot of offenses will wind up with in the RPO game, the goal line, the red zone, with the stick very short, all of these different scenarios where length really helps you out.
"I think that is where Syracuse is getting a nice one out of South Carolina. In an area where, because of the pandemic, they were going to play, they weren't going to play then they did play in the fall. There was some confusion there. Some diamonds in the rough in South Carolina got a bit overlooked because everybody else was playing football in the fall by the time that they got going. I think this is another great find by that staff."