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Yep, it's that time again. Last year we counted down every SU football player from Chandler Jones (#99) to Phil Thomas (#1), as you can see here. Well both of those guys (and a few more in between) are gone and it's time to profile the entire 2012 Syracuse Orange football roster starting with the highest number and working out way down. Let's get to it...
Position: Defensive Line
Year: Sophomore (4 years of eligibility left)
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 324
Hometown: East Patchogue, NY
High School: Bellport
2011 Stats: N/A
2012 Projections: Sloan enters fall camp as Jay Bromley's back up at defensive tackle, but, given his size, I wouldn't be surprised if he saw action at nose tackle too. This is all assuming Sloan can either slim down or use his weight to an advantage.
The interesting part to Sloan's future is connected to his past. Last December the New York Post reported (Yep, they still do report, occasionally.) that his coach and a Bellport official were accused of attempting to fix Sloan's grades to help him qualify at Syracuse. Sloan, and all involved, denied any knowledge of wrong-doing.
In February the Post reported that an investigation proved the allegations untrue. So, despite some serious accusations that could have cost him a scholarship, it looks as though Sloan's future at Syracuse is safe, for now.
How'd he get here? Sloan was a highly decorated all star coming out of the NYC area. He was named to Newsday's All Long Island first team in both his junior and senior seasons. Sloan finished up his career at Bellport second in school history in tackles, recording 196 through four years of starting.
Sloan drew interest from other Big East schools (What exactly is this...Big East, again?) South Florida, Connecticut and Rutgers.
Scout/Rivals said: Scout had Sloan as a 3 star recruit, while Rivals rated the big man with 2 stars.
Money Quote: Sloan pleaded ignorance to the New York Post on the fixing charges leveled against his former coach. Assuming Sloan's talent is eventually showcased at the Dome, him avoiding any serious trouble over the charges will prove to be bigger news than originally thought:
'I really don’t know anything about that. I don’t think Coach Cipp would ever do that. I worked my ass off to get to where I am today, just like anyone else.'
Links O'Wonder: Dan threw it into last year's profile on him, but it's worth reviewing just how much Sloan went through to become a top-tier high school football player worthy of a scholarship to a D1 school, including losing his mom and suffering a significant eye injury. MSG Varsity detailed how Sloan lost his right eye due to an accident when he was three years old.
What Does Marrone think? After last year's debacle of a late season slide that cost the Orange a bowl game, Marrone is looking to change things up on defense and become 'less predictable.' Marrone told the Syracuse Post Standard there are a lot of questions to answer about the defense before game one in September.
'How can we have coverage and create a rush with four players instead of always having to pressure. And then how can we change up some of the concepts of coverage where we can play some more two deep and defend some plays on the perimeter with our corners being more of a factor on those short passes and bubble screens that hurt us during the year.'
Interesting Nugget O'Interest: Assistant coach John Anselmo coached Sloan's cousin when Anselmo was head coach at Nassau Community College. When he committed, Sloan referenced the connection, showing how everything counts in recruiting.
Let us get a good look atchya: Just in case you were wondering, Bellport is a pretty legit high school program: