Earlier today, Florida tight end Aaron Hackett committed to the Syracuse Orange. The 6-3, 225 lb. recruit had narrowed his choices down to SU and USF, and announced his decision via this tweet:
Committed pic.twitter.com/BFRvymqLla
— Aaron Hackett (@Aaronhackett27) July 30, 2016
Hackett joins 15 others in Syracuse's 2017 recruiting class, and is the first tight end of the year to commit to the Orange. 247Sports.com and Scout both put him at three stars, while Rivals has Hackett at two stars.
Unlike many of the other recruits who come into college football, Hackett might actually get to see some playing time as a freshman. The top three tight ends on the Orange's roster for this season are seniors. The No. 4 guy, Tyler Provo, was medically disqualified earlier this month. The only returning tight end Dino Babers will have next season is PJ Batten, who isn't all that experienced and won't get much time on the field this season. It'll be Batten, Hackett and whoever else Babers brings in this cycle fighting for snaps in 2017, as there are no tight ends in the incoming 2016 class.
Hackett is also the first tight end Babers will have brought into Syracuse. You would think this means more high-powered receivers for the high-powered Dino Babers offense, but historically tight ends haven't gotten in on the fun the rest of his offenses have had. Here's the receiving stats of Babers's top tight ends over the years:
Name | School | Year | Stats |
Sam Hendricks | Eastern Illinois | 2012 | 306 Yds, 2 TD, 8.3 Avg |
Eric Luhrsen | Eastern Illinois | 2013 | No stats available |
Chris Pohlman | Bowling Green | 2014 | 2 Rec, 11 Yds, 5.5 Avg |
Derek Lee | Bowling Green | 2015 | 18 Rec, 108 Yds, 6.0 Avg |
I don't think Eric Luhrsen caught any balls in 2013, but there were a lot of wide receivers listed on Eastern Illinois's roster that year so one of them could have played the tight end spot. Luhrsen was the only player listed as a tight end, though.
This doesn't really tell us anything about Hackett, and at only 225 lbs. he isn't really fit to be a purely blocking tight end. Still, it's interesting to see how little Babers has used the position as part of his system.