According to his Twitter profile, Durell Eskridge loves two things, "money and football." By committing to play for Syracuse he gets to do one of them right away in the hopes that he'll get the other soon enough...just not too soon.
Eskridge joins fellow Miami Central senior Oliver Vigile in committing to play for the Orange 2011.
"He's a ball-hawker," coach Telly Lockette said of Eskridge, who plays both ways for him and also returns punts. "He just has a knack for the ball."
Lockette said Eskridge, who has 20 catches for 293 yards and four TDs this season, does well on either side of the football. Eskridge, Lockette said, runs a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash.
Eskridge is a three-star talent according to Rivals, two-star according to Scout. He apparently had interest from Florida, FSU, Cincinnati and UCF while Utah State, FIU and Marshall had all offered him a scholarship. He's a Shafer recruit (so you know he's good) and he expects to visit the campus in January.
Here's a (really long) story from the Miami New Times about Durell and some of his teammates, who have risen up from situations that could have spelled doom for their adult lives. At one point. Durell and his family were homeless. Now, he's on the path to success on and off the field.
Durell was born the seventh of eight children a week before Christmas 1991 at Jackson North Medical Center. Within months, his family moved to the notorious Liberty Square projects on NW 63rd Street, the second-oldest housing project in the nation. Life in Liberty Square was a lesson in tight spaces and tighter budgets for the Eskridges. Durell, his mother, and three sisters were packed into a tiny apartment in the projects, nicknamed Pork 'n' Beans because the residents couldn't afford to eat anything other than canned food. With no father in sight, his older sisters watched over him.
Here's some video of Eskridge, who brings a ton of speed and heart to a school that needs plenty of both at the WR position: