Fit and finish. Charley Loeb fits the offense because he knows how to finish a play. That's why the Syracuse University coaching staff offered Loeb a scholarship. And that's why Loeb made a verbal commitment to sign with the Orange.
Loeb is 6-foot-4, 220-pound quarterback from Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass. He made his verbal commitment this weekend as part of an official visit to Syracuse University.
Loeb is coming off a season where he passed for 24 touchdowns and led his team to a 7-1 record. Not jarring statistical numbers but clearly Marrone and Spence see something in him that fits with the offense they're trying to run. They certainly put the full-court press on young Charles:
"I guess about a week and a half ago that Coach Spence flew into town," Loeb said. "He met with me a little bit. He said he'd been looking at a few other quarterbacks. He was going to narrow it down to a handful he was going to analyze. After he he had completed his analysis, I came up being his guy. From there, it kind of took off.
"With the new staff, they're so impressive. Where they're coming from and just everything about them is very impressive."
At the moment, Loeb has as good a shot as any to start for the Orange in 2010. His heavy recruitment also answers the questions about why SU rescinded their scholarship offer to Garret Barnas and didn't offer one at all to Clayton Moore. This also probably puts the kibosh on Robert Marve coming to SU.
SU did more than just lock in a new QB this weekend, they also got some verbal commitments at other positions as well...
Cornerback Dale Peterman gave the Orange his thumbs up as well as two Florida recruits, safety Phillip Thomas of Miami and outside linebacker E.J. Carter of Orlando. Carter seemed especially blown away by the opportunity:
"I can't wait to get back," Carter said. "I had a great weekend. The whole experience of Syracuse University, everything was great, the players and the coaches and the people and the fans are great."
"I picked the Orange because I feel I'm a good football player and they're a good school," Thomas said. "They haven't been right. Me and some of the other recruits can come in and get it started, play hard and get the Syracuse Orange to a bowl game this year; maybe even better ....
"Coach Marrone has big plans. I want to be a part of that history. I want to be able to sit down in four or five years and people say it was those guys. That's why I picked Syracuse."
Done. Welcome E.J. Help yourself to some Sassy Sauce.