Monday Musings: Official Visit Weekend Intel

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1. Syracuse Makes Impression on Mekhi Mason

The significant note from my interview with Mason after his Syracuse official was that he used the word "natural" several times. It felt natural hanging out with the team and the coaches. Putting on the jersey felt natural and almost "like it was meant to be." Those are good signs. It was beyond the typical post visit rhetoric of "it went well" and "I am still interested." There was more depth to his comments. I like where Syracuse stands right now, though Indiana and Georgia Tech will get a chance to make similar impressions. However, if I'm Syracuse, the school I'm most concerned with is Florida State. It does not sound like the 'Noles have prioritized him since offering, nor does he have an official scheduled there. If something changed and FSU ramped things up, that would make Syracuse's path to landing him more difficult.

2. Syracuse Sets the Bar for Kyle Filipowski

Kyle Filipowski took his first official visit this weekend, and it was to Syracuse. We are hearing that the visit went very, very well. The Orange certainly set the bar for the rest of his visits. The expectation for his recruitment is to go through all of his visits and see where things stand at that point. A decision time frame is not in place beyond that. The team to be concerned with for Syracuse is Duke. The Blue Devils have not offered, but gets the last official visit. An offer could come on that trip. Despite the announcement that Coach K is retiring after the season, Duke remains a recruiting heavyweight.

3. Center Prospect to Monitor

One prospect to keep an eye on at the center position for Syracuse basketball is 2022 big Christ Essandoko. He plays at Winston Salem Prep but is originally from France. Essandoko is 6-11, 265 pounds, is an excellent passer and shot blocker. He has already picked up offers from Maryland and Providence.

4. Justin Taylor Checks Out Virginia Tech and North Carolina

Syracuse priority target Justin Taylor took an unofficial to Virginia Tech and official to North Carolina over the weekend. The good news? He did not commit to either. The plan was always to take all of his visits this month and go from there, but you never know. The UNC visit was especially concerning for Syracuse fans as the Tar Heels are viewed as the biggest threat to the Orange. He is scheduled to visit Syracuse this week.

5. One Weekend Off Before Big Weekends Begin

There are no visitors this coming weekend, but there will be two big official visit weekend for Syracuse football after that. The Orange is set to host more than a dozen visitors between the two weekends. It will be interesting to see how could commit, but we will have more on that closer to each respective weekend.

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