2012 Syracuse Football Recruiting: The Day After Yesterday

I know we're all a little worn out from yesterday's recruiting frenzy (I know Dan is), but let's wrap everything up so we can move on and start getting angry with these guys for dropping passes in spring ball.

My overall thought was that while Syracuse didn't fill every gap, they filled enough of them to make it a very solid class and one of the best ones we've seen in a while. The class ended up being ranked 53rd by Scout while Rivals didn't seem quite as impressed, but at the end of the day the talent seems to be there.

Depth issues across the entire defense were dealt with and there's quite a few guys that could have some kind of impact. Let's not undervalue kicker Ryan Norton, who could give Syracuse it's first kickoff man that can routinely reach the endzone since the FDR administration (it seems). Ashton Broyld is a big wild card that could be the QB of the future. No position looks more taken care of than tight end with Ron Thompson and Josh Parris.

But what does Doug Marrone think?

"The classes, from a standpoint of talent and academics, are getting better and better. Are we seeing a drastic change? No. Would everyone like to? Yes, and I'm talking about from a talent level. But as far as the last 72 hours, I'm not going to lie, it was very difficult."

"As a coach, you like to sit here and say, 'We must be on the right kids if all these other teams are coming in.' But in a same sense, you're fighting your butt off and you hope that you laid the groundwork. It's like if you're driving this reliable car, and all of a sudden this brand new car comes up and right away you want to jump in, drive it and buy it."

In essence, Syracuse needs to be more a hybrid luxury automobile. How do you feel about the state of New York state recruiting?

We were able to get the Player of the Year in the state of New York in Alvin Cornelius and one of the highest ranked players in Wayne Morgan. When you do that, then all of a sudden now the next player who's ranked like that and being recruited that way, it gives you a better opportunity.

Coach singled out kicker Ryan Norton as the only guy with a pretty decent shot at starting, obviously.

I would say Ryan Norton, the kicker. I think he's going to be the kickoff guy, we've seen that on film. He doesn't have to block, he doesn't have to tackle, and he doesn't have to do a lot of things. All he has to do is what he's been doing his entire life which is kicking the ball into the endzone.

No pressure, Ryan.

Coach, how did you deal with the fact that the team lost five in a row and finished 5-7 in terms of recruiting?

"When I was in the homes, I told everyone the truth in that we were in a position to do some things and we fell short. I told this to the team during the year, we don't want to learn by losing football games, how learn how to win. Sometimes that happens, and that's not what you want.

Coach, what do you think about being the longest-tenured coach in the Big East and feel free to tell a joke in your answer:

"To me, I think that's a joke. It's all relative. If everyone in this room had $10 million and I had $1 million, I'd be the poorest person in the room. I don't really worry about the rest of the league. I'm in a volatile profession. Coaches are coming and going during the recruiting season, after the season, contracts are shortened and lengthened. I know exactly what has to be done; we're judged by wins and losses. Loyalty, unfortunately for some, is judged by the dollar amount."

Syracuse football head coach Doug Marrone on the SU recruiting class of 2012 and some changes (podcast) | syracuse.com
"Out of all the kids we have been on since we have been here, we have probably been on Wayne the longest. We knew about him when he was very young, we have connections there, and that is what we mean about the foundation. There are people in that area that you are around quite a bit that they get to see you. There is a Syracuse coach coming in.

Syracuse football recruiting coordinator Greg Adkins on the 2012 SU recruiting class (podcast) | syracuse.com
"I think we are a program, where we are now, we have to be there early. I think we have done a good job of identifying people early. A number of kids who exploded onto the scene that had 20-30 offers, we happened to be first on a lot of those guys."

Incoming cornerback Wayne Morgan: Syracuse is 'New York City's team' | syracuse.com
"That's the city team right there. If you want to represent the city, that's the place to go," Cornelius told the New York Post. "It's New York City's team," Morgan added.

Syracuse University football team tries to escape from its current "four-year cycle" | syracuse.com
"We’re really in a four-year rotation because we’ve played so many young kids," Marrone said recently. "We’re not at a point where we’re bringing in a class of 25 players and three or four of them may play and 21 of them are redshirting. We have to get over that hump."

Wayne Morgan highlights solid recruiting class for Syracuse football | syracuse.com
"You know, the crazy thing is I didn’t even put on the hat yet, and everybody knows," Morgan said over the phone about an hour before the event.

Fizz Audio Vault: 2nd Annual Signing Day SportsCenter, 17 Player Interviews : Orange Fizz
Team Fizz assembled Wednesday night after a tireless day of working the phones, attending press conferences, live blogging, answering questions on Twitter, and covering every angle of SU’s Class of ’12. Here’s everything you need to know, in our full-length 2nd annual Signing Day SportsCenter.

FB | Loading up: Morgan, Thompson highlight SU's talented 2012 recruiting class - Sports - The Daily Orange
"As far as the last 72 hours, I'm not going to lie," Marrone said. "It was very difficult."

FB | Syracuse's move to ACC pays dividends for Orange on recruiting trail with 2012 class - Sports - The Daily Orange
"We're starting to see the benefits of our ability to have been down there since we've been here," Marrone said. "But now we're in there a little bit harder, and we have a little bit more to sell at the end of the day. We have to sell the ACC, and that's helped us quite a bit with those players."

FB | SU revamps defensive line with recruits; kicker Norton could see immediate playing time - Sports - The Daily Orange
"If you said, 'Which player do you think will come in here and have an immediate impact?' I would say Ryan Norton, the kicker," Marrone said. "I think he's going to be the kickoff guy. We've seen that on film.

Davis, McFarland bring versatility to Syracuse | The Juice Online
"He worked extremely hard, and was all set to come and had a very difficult injury," Marrone said. "He was a very good linebacker and very good fullback in high school, we talked to him about playing fullback, and that’s where we expect him to play when spring ball starts."