Monday Musings: Recruiting Impact of a Down Season
1. Let's take the worst case scenario and say Syracuse finishes the 2020 season 1-10. How does that impact recruiting? What does it mean for the current class of 2021 commits? The simple answer is not as much as you'd think. After speaking with the 2021 class thus far, the overwhelming answer was along the lines of their commitment status remains unchanged and they still believe in the direction of the program under the coaching staff. That is very positive news for Syracuse. There was one player's response that was slightly different. That was from offensive lineman Austyn Kauhi. He recently picked up an offer from Central Florida, and has admitted he is keeping an open mind towards the Golden Knights. Kauhi may be the one to monitor the closest going forward.
2. Now that does not mean a poor season would be without repercussions on the recruiting trail. It makes it much easier for other programs to negative recruit Syracuse. Fully expect the message from other coaching staffs to be along the lines of "look at what they did list year" and "Syracuse is trending down" and "one winning season in five years." Syracuse will have to fight that and it will be most impactful in the 2022 class. The good news for Syracuse on that front is that it may be a very small class due to players receiving an extra year of eligibility from the pandemic. Syracuse will counter those arguments by pointing out all of the injuries, changing both coordinators in a year with no spring ball, offseason program and reduced training camp. It will be interesting to see which wins out.
3. Syracuse is also not done in the 2021 class. They recently offered JUCO defensive lineman Isaiah Iton. We spoke to him about the offer, which you can read about HERE. Expect Syracuse to be very active in the junior college and transfer market. We will have more on where Syracuse should look in the transfer portal later this week.
4. On the basketball recruiting front, 2022 wing Justin Taylor out of St. Anne's Belfield School in Virginia is emerging as a priority for Syracuse. Taylor's lead recruiter is Gerry McNamara, and the Orange love his game. Taylor is a legit 6-7, can score from all three levels and has the length to be a force in the zone. Syracuse is recruiting him extremely hard and would love to add him to their class. Their biggest competition appears to be Indiana right now with Maryland there as well. A game changer could be if Virginia offers, but they have not to date.
5. I spoke to Team Spartans Director Joe Chatman (full interview coming in a relaunch of the Cuse Cast podcast later this week) about new offeree Gavin Griffiths. Interesting that he compared him a little bit to former Syracuse star Demetris Nichols. But he has all the makings of an elite recruiting prospect. Syracuse being the first high major to offer is big. I love his potential. Griffiths is a shooting guard who is already 6-7 and has tremendous length. A perfect fit for Syracuse on both ends.