Monday Musings: Impact of Kaluma's Decision, Football Recruiting Notes

It was an eventful weekend for Syracuse with new offers being extended from the football program and a decision on a target of the basketball program. We have the latest news, notes and insider information for Syracuse basketball and football recruiting in the latest edition of Monday Musings.

1. New Offeree Jaquise Alexander

Syracuse recently offered 2022 defensive back Jaquise Alexander out of Tampa Catholic in Florida. Alexander also holds offers from Florida, Miami, UCF, Wake Forest and West Virginia. Despite that impressive offer list, Syracuse does not appear to be too late to the party, from what we are hearing. Expect Syracuse to try to get him on campus next month. He is also working on scheduling one with West Virginia, and is expected to camp at Florida.

2. Belin Still Working on Scheduling Official

Syracuse quarterback target Henry Belin remains one of Syracuse's top target and in constant communication with the staff. Both sides are working at getting an official visit scheduled for June, but that has not happened as of yet. It could get finalized over the next week, but barring something unforeseen, it should get done.

3. Missing on Arthur Kaluma

Not landing Arthur Kaluma does certainly hurt. You obviously would rather land top 50 recruits than not, and he certainly makes them better. Available playing time with the three forwards on the roster is what hurt Syracuse in this one. Keeping that scholarship, however, could end up providing a bit of a silver lining. Now Syracuse does not have to have that same conversation with Kyle Filipowski in the 2022 class. Landing Filipowski if Swider, Benny Williams and Kaluma all returned for the 2022-23 season would be more difficult.

So what does Syracuse do for the 2021 roster? The best guess is stand pat with who they have. It is hard to find a transfer willing to accept a fourth forward role, or willing to accept the risk of a fourth forward role. There could be some who do not have homes that may take that at a high major program like Syracuse, but chances are those will be few and far between. Expect Syracuse to look at the portal for potential options to have a fourth forward, however. I'm just not expecting it to happen as of now.

4. Syracuse Offers 2022 WR

Newly offered wide receiver Zion Steptoe out of Memorial High in Texas is one to keep an eye on moving forward. He also holds offers from Purdue, Utah, Vanderbilt, Kansas, Kentucky, Pittsburgh and several others. Purdue, Utah and Vanderbilt all have official visits scheduled in June. The weekend of the 18th is open, and Syracuse could look to add Steptoe to that weekend for an official. He finished his junior season with 790 receiving yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 21.4 yards per catch and over 112 yards per game according to Max Preps.

5. New Offer for Justin Taylor

UConn has thrown its hat into the mix for Syracuse priority SG target Justin Taylor. Syracuse is still one of it not the favorite for his services, and UConn has a lot of ground to make up. It is still worth nothing, however. I still think this comes down to Syracuse, Indiana and North Carolina.

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