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JUCO Linebacker Lonnie Rice Commits to Syracuse

The Orange adds a linebacker to its 2023 recruiting class from the junior college ranks.
Mike McAllister|
JUCO Linebacker Lonnie Rice Commits to Syracuse
JUCO Linebacker Lonnie Rice Commits to Syracuse

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Syracuse Orange

Syracuse football continues its hot streak on the recruiting trail. Junior college linebacker Lonnie Rice committed to the Orange, he announced on Monday. Rice took an official visit to Syracuse over the weekend. He has three years of eligibility remaining. 

"It's been a long time coming," Rice said of the Syracuse offer. "So when it finally happened, I already knew what I was going to do." 

During the 2022 season at Lackawanna, Rice accumulated 39 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He is listed at 6-0, 220 pounds on Lackawanna football's website. 

Syracuse recruited Rice out of high school, where he starred for Bishop McDevitt High in Pennsylvania. Rice even visited the Orange as a high school prospect, though an offer was not extended. He ultimately signed with Buffalo as part of the 2020 recruiting class before turning to the JUCO ranks. 

As a junior college prospect, Syracuse did offer and pursued heavily as it wanted to add experienced talent to its roster. Rice's official visit over the weekend sealed the deal. 

Rice is the third junior college prospect in Syracuse's 2023 class, joining offensive linemen J'Onre Reed and Lysander Moeolo. He is the second linebacker in the class along with Zyian Moultrie-Goddard. Rice's commitment puts the Orange at 15 high school and junior college players in the 2023 class. Syracuse also has four incoming transfers. 

It has been an offseason of change for Syracuse, which has lost both of its coordinators in the last week. Robert Anae took the offensive coordinator job at NC State while Tony White left to be Nebraska’s defensive coordinator. The Orange named Jason Beck its new offensive coordinator and Rocky Long its new defensive coordinator. 

Meanwhile, preparations are underway for National Signing Day on Wednesday and the Pinstripe Bowl on the 29th.

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Mike McAllister
MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting.  EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans.  After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years.  Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports.  Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College. 

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