Syracuse Football: How Does George McDonald's Demotion Affect Recruiting?

Everyone was a bit shocked to see the news that Scott Shafer had demoted George McDonald from Offensive Coordinator and promoted Tim Lester to the vacant spot. While the news has been welcomed by those of us who were fed up with some of the playcalling, it could prove catastrophic on the recruiting trail.

However, it really depends how much Coach McDonald takes this to heart. If he's really offended by the demotion and really doesn't want to stay at Syracuse at a WR Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, we could see mass defections from our current 2015 class, and, in a worst case scenario, the 2014 class could have some transfers.

However, I believe that as long as McDonald remains as a coach at Syracuse, we shouldn't see any negative effects on recruiting. In fact, we could see bigger gains in recruiting as George is given more time to concentrate his efforts towards the 2015 and 2016 cycles. We already received some positive news regarding Alin Edouard this afternoon, via Syracuse.com's Chris Carlson:

"Like I said before, I'm 100 percent committed to Syracuse," Edouard said. "I'll always look at (McDonald) like a father-figure but Coach (Tim) Lester is also a really good coach. I talk with both of them all the time."

However, we're Syracuse fans, so what would this article be if we didn't get real pessimistic about what could happen in the future. Let's break down who GMcD has committed in this class and see what could happen if he was to leave. Not all Florida kids are solely McDonald's recruits, as Lester has done some recruiting in the sunshine state as well, but it's hard to tell who's loyal to who.

Andrew Spence, CB, Coral Gables HS - Spence still hasn't visited the Orange, so while he is committed here, until he comes up for his official visit nothing is close to set in stone. McDonald has a specialty of getting these kids to commit without visiting, so Spence would be a serious candidate to decommit if George was to leave.

Dana Levine, DE, Hallandale HS - Levine is another kid that hasn't visited SU yet, and while he hasn't added to his offer list yet this season, could be a kid that Syracuse will have to fight for as we get close to signing day even with McDonald. If George leaves I think Levine would be a lock to leave.

Gerald Robinson, CB, Champagnat Catholic - Gerald visited back in July and loved his visit here at Syracuse, and also got to meet the other coaches outside of just McDonald. He's also trying to get here as an early enrollee in January so I think regardless of what happens we won't have to worry about him.

Sam Clausman, OL, St. Thomas Aquinas - Clausman is one of two Aquinas recruits that are vital in getting the Orange program back into Rocco Casullo's pipeline, and last night he tweeted his support for the team.

— The Captain (@SamClausman) October 7, 2014

Colin Byrne, OL, St. Thomas Aquinas - Like Clausman, he's visited campus already and appears to be very solidly committed. He even came up and met with Dontae Strickland at the SU-ND game at Metlife Stadium.

Levine would be the biggest losses from this class if McDonald were to leave, as I believe he's one of our best recruits in this cycle. Hopefully McDonald values his working relationship with Shafer enough that he won't leave regardless of the demotion, as I don't see too many schools in the market for him as an Offensive Coordinator. But if he does, anything could happen and hopefully we don't see the after effects take place.