Harper College Will Not Be Attending Syracuse University's Hanukkah Dinner

by Sean Keeley on Dec 22, 2008 3:39 PM EST Comment 21 comments

Back on December 9th, it was announced that Harper College two-time JUCO All-American quarterback Garrett Barnas was transfering to SU. It was delightful, if not curious, news. Why would this guy want to commit to SU before the new coaching staff, and more importantly, new offensive scheme, was in place? No matter, said Barnas, it was about the tradition and desire to play for the Orange. Everything else would fall into place.

Well everything else did fall into place. Doug Marrone was hired as head coach. Rob Spence was brought on as offensive coordinator. They both had a shared vision for Syracuse football and unfortunately for Barnas, that vision did not include him.

Harper (Ill.) College football coach Dragan Teonic said today that Syracuse University has rescinded the scholarship offer to his quarterback, Garrett Barnas. Teonic said Syracuse assistant coach Derrick Jackson called Barnas on Friday to tell him they would not be able to offer him a scholarship.

Teonic said Jackson told Barnas that the new coaching staff did not want to have six quarterbacks on scholarship and that Barnas did not fit into their offensive plans.

Oofa. Can you imagine that call? Jackson must've been sick to his stomach. As you can also imagine, so is Barnas' coach and evil emperor from a magic faraway land, Dragan Teonic:

"They've been recruiting this kid hard for the last year," Teonic said. "They knew they had six quarterbacks a year ago. To use that as an excuse now is ridiculous. If that's the way they want to do business, fine. Why not have the head coach doing the calling? No one called the parents. I wish nothing but the worst of luck to Syracuse. I hope they continue to be the Detroit Lions of college football."

HEY! That's not nice, Dragan! First of all, I'll have you know you don't NEED to wish us bad luck...we've already got plenty. And second, we are NOT the Detroit Lions of college football! The Detroit Lions are the Syracuse Orange of the NFL. Don't get it twisted.

So WTF? It did seem very odd at the time that Barnas was still being so heavily recruited by a coaching staff that didn't even know if it would still be there. The fact that Jackson did remain with the Orange would have seemingly secured Barnas' spot with the team, but...guess not.

What I'm curious to know if why Barnas doesn't fit what SU is trying to do. By all accounts he's an all-purpose QB who can throw AND run. Certainly a no-huddle spread QB will need to know how to improvise and think quick...not exactly the first things that come to mind when I think of Cam Dantley or Andrew Robinson.

We'll have to keep an eye on Barnas and see where he eventually ends up. Something tells me we better hope it's not with a team Syracuse plays in the next two years. Cummupance, they name is Orange.

0 recs | Comment 21 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Read More: Syracuse Orange, Detroit Lions

Comments

I'm sorry, but are we really in any position to be turning down recruits?

Marrone has a set on him for sure if he thinks Barnas isn’t good enough for his system. Because if six is too many than you can always cut someone worse than Barnas. Interesting.

by NOLACuse on Dec 22, 2008 3:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Does seem

very strange. I wonder if they’ve got another QB in their crosshairs.

by Sean Keeley on Dec 22, 2008 3:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

exactly!!

i agree big time with everything u folks said. i think that sends really, really negative signals to other kids that they might want to recruit out of hs or comm college. just really not de riguer" as far as being fair. and so far its ovious, the only kid they have on any level, that can play an y other kind of offense is legree. the rest of them, are naturally they slow, awkward drop back nfl wanna be qb types..shaking my head, i was willing to have a open mind with all this new staff.. but this really is lame..

by eiremist on Dec 22, 2008 3:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

This was a dick move

The kid was a JUCO All American! He has to be better than Brett Hoffman (whos HS accolades dont even justify a Bio)

Heres the other thing, this kid was willing to play another position. Who said he had to be a 6th QB? And we had 6QBs last year.. then one switched to TE why cant we give this kid a scholarship? Its not like we dont have any left after such a big recruiting class.

by ryanwk628 on Dec 22, 2008 4:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

but we keep

the 2 star WR who has never seen the weight room?

(Im really pissed if you couldnt tell)

by ryanwk628 on Dec 22, 2008 4:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

ryan wk628

i gotta agree with u on this one. and u know what?? what these clowns forget, is that a juco player.. is like got all the academic issues solved.. no big mysterys as far as the kid being a problem like the lb that miami recruited, and went thru like 5 schools allready, including louisville. and the kid is say 20, much more mature physically and emoitionally then the hs recruits. in other words, ready to come in and play right now! and i appears this kid is allready playing in some kind of spread system. this really sends a very bad message to other kids out there on every level about the new SU football staff. as noted, i saw this kid, maybe style of play, and size, as a bill hurley or marvin graves.. quick.. pass on the run.. roll out stuff.. this really is not the right way to start the new junta here at SU

by eiremist on Dec 22, 2008 4:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

ok

so when do we start with the marronisms

by 86trash on Dec 22, 2008 4:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

upon further review

i have to admit the report that syracuse was gonna go after kids who had already made commitments to other schools sounded “dirty” so to speak it is one thing to go hard after an undecided, but does aggressively recruiting top notch recruits mean we throw ethics out the window………now we offer then recind rediculouskid could have been a good d-back……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

by 86trash on Dec 22, 2008 5:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I will say this though

Teonic’s indignation is a little over the top. I don’t like the decision, but the kid did commit when we had no head coach or system in place. There was no guarantee the new administration would be a fan of his, even if one of the coaches who recruited him is still at Cuse. And when he says that it is ridiculous to say we don’t want six QBs since we had six QBs last year, does he realize that there is an almost entirely new coaching staff? I would expect some new opinions and values under a brand new system. I have to say: Dragan, cool off. Marrone was entirely within his rights to deny the kid, even if I think it was a stupid decision.

by NOLACuse on Dec 22, 2008 5:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Very reminiscent

of the Wyoming Coach after SU canceled the football series

by Sean Keeley on Dec 22, 2008 5:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i have an idea

Would you like me to go out to Palatine and take out the Dragan? I may be the closest. I’d be willing to defend the honor of SU. I could challenge him to a duel, or something very obscure, like scattegories. You guys should throw out some ideas.

by chicagocuse on Dec 22, 2008 5:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I assume it's snowing there

Go write something nasty in the snow on their quad.

Do community college’s have quad?

by Sean Keeley on Dec 22, 2008 6:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why did I

add an apostrophe on community colleges?

by Sean Keeley on Dec 22, 2008 6:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

maybe because

when you were thinking about community college’s, it made you a little slow just for a moment

by chicagocuse on Dec 22, 2008 7:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Crap

see it’s contagious, I did it too

by chicagocuse on Dec 22, 2008 7:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well

Im sure Iowa or USF will be happy to have him. Why not go there? Heck there the season is a month longer and ends at a bowl game!

by ryanwk628 on Dec 22, 2008 5:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Why?

Marrone’s first dumb decision. Watch him go to Hawaii and be filthy nasty…

by JRSu1 on Dec 22, 2008 9:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

comm colleges????

and i have to add, it is ovious thru out the years, that even with pasqualbongna, basically, the typical su fan,much less the university itself, has a deragatory attitude towards comm colleges.kinda hilarius , since su is by no stretch of the imagination a stanford or northwestern that will attract the A" list of giant intellects. also, laughing.. most of these dimwits dont even realize that SU itself awards a AS degree . in forestry, thru the branch campus up the andirondacks. thru the ESF college of SU. just more ill founded eliteism from the rank and file of syracuse alumni and administration. oh, and one more thing, if u dont think that they have comm college football programs in say 3 of the juco football leagues out in CA.. home of like what, 108 comm colleges, that could have played SU football teams in the past 7-8 years and competed, u are dreaming. they have some great football talent developed out in ca comm colleges. and proof of it was the kid we played from new joisey" courtesy of bakersfield comm college.

by eiremist on Dec 23, 2008 9:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

The kid was a Div 3 JUCO? That’s like playing for Cortland State.

No wonder that no other Div 1 school wanted him.

by DanteAmore on Dec 23, 2008 11:59 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

We'll take him

In fact, we might be his only option now.

http://templefootballforever.blogspot.com

Hopefully, he won’t mind coming a little farther East.

by templefootballforever on Dec 25, 2008 11:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

D3 JUCO?

If you didn’t know, Harper actually beat Phoenix College(Division 1 JUCO) in the Valley of the Sun Bowl. Garret had brought Harper back from a 38-6 deficit in the 4th quarter to win the game and that was against a Division 1 JUCO program. He’s capable of playing at any level, and SU really messed this one up bad. DanteAmore you should really look into things before you begin to talk. And he also had offers from USF, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and on the verge of Central Michigan had he not told them he was not interested.

by Cantbestopped on Dec 28, 2008 12:30 AM EST reply actions 0 recs