Syracuse football: JUCO transfer DB Michael Moore fails to qualify

When we previewed the Syracuse Orange defensive backs this week, we were cautious about including Michael Moore and James Pierre just yet, as they’d yet to qualify.

Ends up Syracuse will be without Moore, at the very least.

On Friday, Dino Babers said that Moore had not qualified for Syracuse University academically, therefore would not be joining the team this season. The Palomar College (San Marcos, Calif.) transfer was supposed to be a big help for the inexperienced Orange as they transitioned to a new scheme in the Tampa-2.

Moore was no shoo-in to start, of course. But given the youth around the defense (especially in the second), it was thought that any contribution could help. There’s yet to be any indication where Moore will play football this fall now, if he does suit up for a team.

Now SU waits on Pierre, the one-time North Carolina commit who failed to qualify to play for the Heels. Should the team end up losing both, it would put a damper on a promising incoming secondary class — and put extra onus on the staff to continue to build some future depth there.

No timetable has been set for the decision on Pierre’s qualification. We’ll wait, with fingers crossed, to see if he’s able to join the program.