Monday Musings: Schools Pursuing Syracuse Commits

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1. LaNorris Sellers

Sellers is having his National Signing Day ceremony on Friday even though Signing Day is on Wednesday. It is worth noting that the early period lasts for a week, so he is well within that timeframe. South Carolina has been pitching location as a means to try to flip the talented in-state quarterback. Sellers has been committed to Syracuse since March and is very loyal to new offensive coordinator Jason Beck. If this is a battle of offensive coordinator resumes, the Orange wins easily. South Carolina's new OC, Dowell Loggains, has a track record of bad offenses in the NFL and has only coached in college for two seasons (2021 and 2022) as a position coach (tight ends coach at Arkansas). As a coordinator in the NFL, Loggains routinely had offenses that finished in the bottom five of the league. Beck's history includes developing multiple NFL quarterbacks and highly productive offenses. He does have experience calling plays as the OC at division two Simon Fraser, where he turned the offense from the worst in its conference to the best in multiple categories. Location is the only thing that keeps this from being an easy Syracuse recruiting win. We will see what happens, but South Carolina continues its full court press while the Orange is doing everything it can to re-pitch itself.

2. J'Onre Reed

Syracuse landing a junior college center was important. The weakest link along the offensive line last season was center, and Reed provides experience there. He should push Vettorello for the starting spot next season at worst. This will not be a flashy addition to the 2023 class but could end up being one of the biggest. Reed shows athleticism to pull and get to the second level on film. If that translates and he can get the protection calls down, Reed should be a strong contributor for the Orange.

3. Vincent Carroll-Jackson

Syracuse landed the Keystone State offensive lineman a little over one week ago following an official visit. Carroll-Jackson indicated he was shutting his recruitment down at that point with National Signing Day right around the corner. However, he took an official visit to Nebraska this past weekend and told me "I'm just on the visit, that's all." Still, it is concerning from a Syracuse perspective that he is visiting somewhere else less than a week after committing. Recruiting is hard to predict and this one could legitimately go either way. Colorado was also trying to get Carroll-Jackson up to campus for a visit.

4. Signing Day Surprises?

Last year, we had an Australian punter sign out of nowhere. Will there be similar surprises in 2022? I would say it is likely given that the staff has tried to keep visitors as close to the vest as possible. Part of that is to keep other programs off the scent, part of that is because they were hosting recruits committed elsewhere. We will have it all covered for you no matter how it goes down.