Syracuse Football: Get To Know Your Orange Man - #3 Durell Eskridge

Oh hai Syracuse, it's been too long.  School is in session, and that means it's time to rush through the last few "Get To Knows" before football starts.  Once all of you get your power back, click here to get to know the rest of the team.

Position:  Free Safety

Year:  Freshman

Height:  6'2"

Weight:  196

Hometown:  Miami, FL

High School:  Miami Central

2010 Stats:  He played both sides of the ball during his senior year at Miami Central.  He caught 20 balls for 300 yards and 5 TDs, returned a punt for a TD, and picked off two passes.

2011 Projections:  Eskridge was one of the forgotten men in this freshman class in my opinion, not too many people talked about him as someone who could come in and make an impact.  Shows what we know, because it seems like he's going to come in and make an impact.  Expect Eskridge to get a lot of playing time on special teams, and should see some time on defense as well.

How'd He Get Here:  Eskridge and fellow Miami Central-er Oliver Vigille both signed with SU, so it sounds like that may have had something to do with it.  Eskridge was recruited by Scott Shafer, and chose SU over Cincinnati, FIU, Marshall, Utah State, Purdue and New Mexico.

What'd the Recruiting Services Say?:  Scout and Rivals did their normal thing...Scout gave Durell 2-stars and Rivals gave him 3.  ESPN gave him a grade of 73 (2 stars) with a position ranking of 195 and a regional ranking of 692.

Money Quote: 

"I actually committed to Syracuse on Wednesday. There were a lot of reasons why I picked them," Eskridge said. "They were always a school very interested in me. They like me as an athlete so I could play receiver, free safety or return kicks. I love the coaching staff and did you see what they did this season? They won."

Links of Wonder: There are some really good articles in local papers about our players.  This Miami New Times piece on Eskridge and Miami Central is the easily the best.  It's a bit long at 6 pages, but give it a read.  Durell has a pretty incredible story.

Doug Marrone Thinks:  He's definitely high on Eskridge, as he had the true freshman sharing first team snaps with Jeremi Wilkes while Phil Thomas was out with his injury.

Interesting Nugget O'Interest:  Durell is best friends with Florida State freshman Devonta Freeman.  The article above says that he used to mess with Freeman by changing whatever college football game he was watching to reruns of Martin.  Yeah, I don't get it either.

EDIT:

A far more interesting fact is that Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew and the University of Miami scandal fame was one of Eskridge and Vigille's assistant coaches at Miami Central.  (h/t DownTheField at Syracusefan.com...never put two and two together when reading the article before).

Let Us Get a Good Look Atchya:

Durell Eskridge (2011 WR/S) Senior Highlight - Elite Scouting - Syracuse (via EliteScouting)

Durell Eskridge Junior Highlights (via EliteScouting)