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Syracuse signed 19 recruits on Tuesday, assembling the first part of its 2021 recruiting class.

Head coach Dino Babers said those players, along with the 18 players from the Class of 2020 who still have four years of eligibility remaining, could contribute to one of the best in recent program history. 

“I really believe when this class combines, it’ll be the best freshman class that Syracuse has had in a really long time,” Babers said.

Syracuse has the No. 12 class in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the No. 53 class in the nation, according to 247 Sports. Terry Lockett, Austin Roon and Landon Morris all confirmed to The Daily Orange that they’ll be enrolling early as well.

Here’s a look at the 19 three-star signees: 

• Duce Chestnut, DB (5-11, 180 lbs), Camden (New Jersey) High School
• Enrique Cruz, OL (6-5, 252 lbs), Willowbrook (Illinois) High School
• Umari Hatcher, WR (6-3, 175 lbs), Freedom (Virginia) High School
• Justin Lamson, QB (6-3, 210 lbs), Oak Ridge (California) High School
• Oronde Gadsden II., WR (6-4, 190 lbs), American Heritage (Florida) School
• Jatius Greer, DL (6-5, 260 lbs), Belton-Honea Path (South Carolina) High School
• Malcolm Folk, Safety (6-1, 191 lbs), Episocpal (Pennsylvania) Academy
• Terry Lockett, DT (6-1, 255 lbs), Springfield (Massachusetts) Central High School
• Malik Matthew, OLB (6-3, 210 lbs), Hebert H. Lehman (New York) High School
• Austin Roon, OLB (6-4, 220 lbs), Byron Central (Michigan) High School
• Josh Hough, RB (6-2, 235 lbs), Beaver Falls (Pennsylvania) High School
• Kalan Ellis, OG (6-5, 350 lbs), Saint Louis (Hawaii) High School
• Derek McDonald, TE (6-4, 230 lbs), Marist (Georgia) School
• Landon Morris, TE (6-5, 210 lbs), Fishers (Indiana) High School
• Kendall Long, WR (6-3, 215 lbs), River Bluff (South Carolina) High School
• Elijah Fuentes, DT (6-3, 260 lbs), Cardinal Hayes (New York) High School
• Tyler Magnuson, OT (6-5, 260 lbs), Wayzata (Minnesota) High School
• Austyn Kauhi, OT (6-2, 260 lbs), Kamehameha (Hawaii) High School
• Wes Hoeh, OG (6-4, 250 lbs), Glenbard West (Illinois) High School

Babers offered his insight into the class, along with how recruiting was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, during his National Signing Day press conference Tuesday. 

Two-for-one

The NCAA’s eligibility ruling on the 2020 season was perhaps just the boost Syracuse needed. All six freshman defenders who appeared against Notre Dame, along with Sean Tucker, Cooper Lutz and JaCobian Morgan, have four years of eligibility remaining. The combined class has the potential to be historic, Babers said. 

“Hopefully, when we get this freshman class once again, when we get this class on campus, because of the pandemic rule, we’re going to put together a freshman class that hopefully everyone can remember,” Babers said.

The 2020 freshmen were shoved into starting roles after Trill Williams and Andre Cisco opted out and Eric Coley was injured. Babers pointed out that Rob Hanna, Ja’Had Carter and Aman Greenwood all had the potential to be four- or five-year starters, but they needed more muscle to guard and tackle ACC wide receivers and tight ends. 

By augmenting that group, along with linebacker Marlowe Wax, Tucker and Lutz, Babers believes Syracuse will be more competitive. He pointed to Hough, who he said is a “bigger back,” as the prototypical bruising back in his offense. 

“Competition does nothing but make one better,” Babers said. “The more competition you can breed at one position, the better that position is going to be.

“If guys come in and do what we’ve evaluated they can do — and we did a decent job last year with the evaluations — if we hit this year the way we did last year, everybody is going to be very excited about the base and foundation we’re giving this football team.”

Recruiting during the pandemic

Babers was forthright when discussing the challenges that Zoom recruiting presents. He’s always preferred meeting in-person, especially with a recruit’s family, but Babers and his staff have resorted to video calling and holding longer conversations with recruits. 

“Being on a Zoom call and seeing the parents and the prospects right there together, more than once, and see(ing) how they interacted with their mom and dad and how the mom and dad interacted with them,” Babers said. “I think really gives you a peek in the window on what type of person he is, not only around his others, but how he’s treated by his mom and dad.”

Syracuse was also able to recruit a wider array of recruits, including Haiwaiian offensive lineman Austyn Kauhi and Kalan Ellis. Kauhi, who confirmed to The D.O. that he intends to enroll in June, landed on Syracuse’s radar after directly messaging Blair Cavanaugh, offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh’s son, on Twitter. 

Babers’ Hawaiian roots — he was born in Honolulu and played for the University of Hawaii — were a key factor for Kauhi and Ellis, along with academics, he said. 

“Both of those young men are from very fine academic high schools,” he said. “They’re in the top five high schools on the islands. Syracuse University and the private school education helped us recruit those two young men.

“Once the pandemic ends, I can’t tell you, we’ll be out there as much as we ended out there this year. We will always follow the rule. We’ll start close to home and try to find as many players as we can, and as we spiral out, we’ll continue to work until we find the type of athletes who can play and help us compete in the ACC.”

Published on December 16, 2020 at 3:40 pm

Contact Adam: adhillma@syr.edu | @_adamhillman