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With only 2 to 3 spots remaining in this class, the concentration of the Syracuse staff is hanging onto the guys they have, while dedicating the rest of their energy on 3-5 main remaining targets. It's important to close strong, and with only three weeks until signing day, this weekend is all about Bobby Acosta. The coach will have four huge NJ prospects on campus this weekend, and landing even one of them would go a long way.
Having two prospects already committed to Syracuse will go a long way, and Dontae Strickland and Daivon Ellison will both play big roles to help coach Acosta do some major work on the other prospects.
Any of the three unrecruited prospects committing to Syracuse this weekend would be a huge victory, so fingers crossed.
2015 Commits
- Dontae Strickland, RB, South Brunswick HS - Dontae is one of our most important recruits in this class. While he's very solid to Syracuse, it's always important to stay fresh in their mind as we head towards signing day. This visit should further remind him why he chose the Orange in the first place and give him a chance to meet new teammates.
- Daivon Ellison, CB, Don Bosco Prep - Daivon is also a huge recruit as his commitment furthered the Orange's attempts to reclaim Jersey. He also played a big role in recruiting preferred walk-on Kyle Berg. Daivon's very solid to SU as well.
RT @DaiEllison_2: S/O TO MY BOY @kyle11berg FOR COMMITTING TO SYRACUSE AS A PREFERRED WALK-ON!!! Lesssssgetit #Bosco2Cuse
— Nunes Recruiting (@NunesRecruiting) January 8, 2015
- Keivonnis Davis, DE, Miami Central HS - Definitely the least solid of our visitors this weekend. This will be Davis's first visit to Syracuse, as he was supposed to attend our last big visit weekend. With his original primary recruiter now at NC State, this will be huge for the Orange staff to convince Keivonnis he's making the right decision before visiting Oregon State next weekend (and his apparently desire of a Louisville offer)
- Tyrone Perkins, RB, Friends Academy - Perkins missed all of his senior season with a torn ACL, but the Syracuse staff is honoring his commitment, and he will take his official visit this weekend.
2015 Prospects
- Jake Pickard, DE, Millburn Sr. HS - Pickard is still committed to Wisconsin, but after Bobby Acosta reached out after Gary Andersen left the school in December. Jake has always held Syracuse in high esteem and if the Syracuse staff can really hammer home how much they want him on this visit, a flip could happen. While Wisconsin kept Dave Aranda (the DC), the rest of their staff has changed so it will be interesting to see what happens here. I predict he stays with Wisconsin but we're not in a terrible spot.
- Nate Howard, DE, Ladue Horton Watkins HS - Howard is also committed to Wisconsin, and is a bit of a late addition to our prospect list. He's taken official visits to Wiscy, Illinois, Indiana, and will visit Mizzou the 23rd. There's really not a lot of info out there on Howard, but he's not 100% committed to Wisconsin so getting him on campus is always good. I can't get a read on Nate so we'll see what happens.
- Najee Clayton, S/LB, Paramus Catholic HS - Syracuse has a very good shot with the uncommitted safety/linebacker hybrid from Paramus. The staff plans to use him like we would have Daiquan Kelly if he had stayed committed. Clayton tweeted a few weeks ago that he would be announcing his commitment soon, and since he doesn't have any other OVs set up, I'd pencil us in as the favorites here.
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I'd expect the Orange to land one out of the three this weekend, but solidifying Keivonnis would also be just as good as a commitment. As always, I'll be posting updates on the official visits through the weekend and will have a recap up next week.