Matt Fries on Syracuse Visit: 'I Liked the Atmosphere'

One of Syracuse football's top targets in the 2022 recruiting cycle is Cranford (N.J.) Senior High offensive lineman Matt Fries. Fries visited the Syracuse campus over the weekend to get a look at it in person. Recruits are permitted to visit in such a fashion as long as there is no face to face contact with the coaching staff.

"It was great," Fries said. "Went with my parents and walked around campus and got some great food. I would say the best parts were the location of everything on campus. It was very centralized and I liked the atmosphere of the city and campus."

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Fries said there were a few things that surprised him on the visit while he walked around and checked out campus.

"Yes I would say the central location of the buildings surprised me," Fries said. "It was definitely a positive and convenient compared to some other campuses that are very spread out. I also loved the stadium being right on campus. Did not expect that."

During a recruitment, it is important to impress parents as well as the player. The Syracuse campus did just that for Fries' parents.

"They really enjoyed it," Fries said. "My dad had been up there before with my brother (former Penn State offensive lineman Will Fries) but this was my mom and I's first time up seeing the campus. They are very impressed with the academics and alumni network as well as the beautiful campus."

While Fries says he was impressed by what he saw on the visit, he admitted it was difficult to compare without seeing other campuses. The next step in his recruitment is to take more visits over the summer and he is hoping the NCAA will allow face to face visits starting in June. If the NCAA does, he hopes to take another trip to Central New York.

In addition to Syracuse, Fries holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Indiana, Central Florida, Wake Forest and West Virginia, among others.