Monday Musings: Recruiting Q&A - The Answers
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Q: It was understood that SU was only recruiting a slot receiver during this cycle. But it seems Brown is a wideout. Does this mean SU still looks to recruit a slot receiver?
Answer: The Brown commitment was certainly a bit of a curveball for that very reason. But when you have a 6-3 receiver who is a track star, Syracuse felt that was too much to pass up. Especially when he worked out well in person. Could Syracuse still take a slot? Of course. They will continue to monitor options and if someone good enough presents themselves, they would move on it. However, I do not believe they will force it. So it is plausible Brown is the only receiver this class.
Q: Any sense that SU may be backing off some on recruiting at the moment so they can hopefully generate some excitement in the fall in hopes of attracting players?
Answer: I do not get that sense. That could be a good strategy but could also backfire. Would a 6-6 season or even 7-5 generate enough excitement to land a recruit they would not otherwise get? I'm not so sure. But I also do not get the sense that the recruiting strategy has shifted from previous cycles in terms of when they would take commitments.
Q: Any news on whether SU is looking at any new QB prospects?
Answer: Nothing new to report on the quarterback front. Syracuse is going to evaluate the first few games from the senior season of several prospects and go from there. One name I would keep an eye on is Brogan McCaughey. He will be one of the prospects Syracuse evaluates.
Q: Who might be the next domino to fall for the SU basketball's 2022 Class?
Answer: There are two options. Chris Bunch and Peter Carey. Syracuse continues to recruit Bunch extremely hard. His dad recently told AllSyracuse.com that Syracuse is recruiting his son "very hard." Carey is supposed to visit for elite camp this Saturday, but that could be up in the air depending upon ramifications from the storm this weekend. Those two seem to be the closest.
Q: Football: Mike, how many open spots do you think we have left to fill in this recruiting class? Can you review our top remaining priorities at each position?
Answer: Syracuse currently has 11 members in its 2021 class. How many more could Syracuse take? They could take as many as 10, but I'm not sure the class will get that high. Here are some top targets at each position:
QB: TBD - See answer above on quarterback recruiting.
RB: None - All set with LeQuint Allen committed.
WR: None currently. Could change.
TE: None currently. Syracuse will evaluate this fall.
OL: Chad Schuster, Tyrone Webber, Max McCree
DL: Kanye Varner, Daniel Owens
LB: DeAunte Hunter
DB: Deuce Spurlock
Q: Basketball: There has been a lot of discussion about who our remaining recruiting priorities are. Mike, can you assess the % likelihood of landing a commit for each of them?
JJ Starling: 50%
Chris Bunch: 75%
Peter Carey: 75%
Chance Westry: 10%
Dominic Barlow: 30%
Q: Who has Chip West been the primary of? And what is he contributing at this point in recruiting?
Answer: West has not been the primary for any commit in the 2022 class. However, he has been involved with each defensive back the Orange has recruited and has committed to date.
Q: Anything on Tice, Farell or Duke Brennan?
Amarri Tice: Syracuse reached out a while back, but there has not been much buzz there since. I am not expecting an offer at this point.
Yann Farell: Syracuse is still somewhat involved, but the buzz around him is UConn. It is hard to get a read on his recruitment to see if he is close to deciding.
Duke Brennan: Nothing with Syracuse and Brennan. I'm not expecting anything to materialize there.
Q: Any chance for an August surprise via the transfer portal? LB looks a bit thin based on the roster that was released. Four guys with significant game experience, two others that may have seen spot action last year and two newbies.
Answer: I don't think so. The addition of Cody Shear to the offensive line is likely the last roster addition.
Q: Anything new on the Pietramala brothers?
Answer: They are class of 2022 recruits, and therefore they have time before they sign. The early signing period is in November, so nothing is imminent from what I have heard. I spoke with Syracuse commit Joey Spallina, also part of the 2022 class, and he said "nothing recently."
Q: Mike what are you expecting at quarterback? Seems like we had answers when Bartow was here. Without him it’s like we are back to “we really don’t have a target but we have a few we are gonna watch them play as seniors.” It's kind of the feeling I’m getting. Which is where we were with Kirk Martin. Gilbert was supposed to fix that.
Answer: As noted above, when Syracuse missed on Henry Belin, the strategy became to evaluate prospects during the fall and go from there. No question it is not ideal, but Syracuse did get Justin Lamson last cycle and Gilbert was a big part of that. We will see how it goes moving forward.
Q: Midway recruiting report cards for each staff minus Samuel and Schmidt.
Answer: It is tough for both. I'd say incomplete. I think both did a nice job grabbing someone they really liked during a live evaluation in Joe Cruz and Donovan Brown. But there have also been misses and the cycle is not over. Samuel especially with a small wide receiver class in 2022. Solid starts, no home runs yet, but by no means failing.
Q: What has changed for GMac to get him over the recruiting hump?
Answer: Despite the Lands loss, it has been a strong cycle in 2022 thus far for coach McNamara. I do not think anything has changed, however. Just the natural progression of him as a recruiter. I was never as concerned as many were about his ability to recruit. As Syracuse gets further from the sanctions, McNamara and the rest of the staff has recruited well.
Q: For basketball, given the dynamics of the transfer portal and players moving more frequently, any chance we take a 5 or 6 person class in 22? Any chance we look Max Majerle who is playing at Brewster this year, kid's a sharp shooter.
Answer: I still think Syracuse takes five or six players this class. With two players committed, the Orange could add JJ Starling, Peter Carey, Chris Bunch and Dominic Barlow in 2022. Or Syracuse could add any two or three of them plus evaluate other options. Having the portal available is helpful, but I do not expect Syracuse to rely on it as a primary recruiting tool.
As far as Max Majerle, yes he is indeed the son of former NBA player Dan Majerle. Yes is he a great outside shooter like his dad. I reached out to Brewster head coach Jason Smith to find out if Syracuse was recruiting him, and Smith said no. Could he jump onto the radar in the future? Sure. But he is not right now.
Q: My main question for 2022 is if there are any realistic prospects remaining besides Starling, Westry, Bunch, Carey and Barlow?
Yes. I think Yann Farell is still an option, though I would not consider Syracuse one of the favorites there. Amarri Tice if Syracuse were to offer. Maliq Brown, despite the lack of contact from Syracuse, could still be an option if the Orange elects to make a push. But the five named in the question are the clear top priorities.