National Signing Day: RB Markenzy Pierre signs with Syracuse

The Syracuse Orange football program’s class of 2017 is finally signing on the dotted line. National Signing Day will welcome plenty of new players to the SU family, and we’re providing profiles for each and every commitment at TNIAAM. The latest signee is Western Kentucky flip Marknezy Pierre, who should help the Orange’s running back concerns.

Twitterfeed: @MarkenzyP

Hometown: Kissimee, Fla.

High School: Liberty High School

Position: Running back

Stats: 5'11", 218 pounds

Commitment Date: October 29, 2016

Ratings: Three stars 247Sports and ESPN, but two stars from Scout and Rivals.

Other Offers: Western Kentucky, Memphis, Utah State, Middle Tennessee, Appalachian State, Georgia State and some others. He was originally committed to the Hilltopers before making the switch to Syracuse. Big Red’s just a bizarro-world version of Otto, anyway, so he knew where he was headed eventually.

Dino’s projected nickname: “Biz Markenzy is ‘Just a Friend’”

Highlights:

Player Breakdown: Pierre is already a bigger back in high school, so some time in a college weight room should only help him go from 218 pounds to around 230. Even at 218, though, he’s a quick runner who lists a 4.5-second 40-yard dash time on his Hudl page. That could prove plenty useful in this offense whether he’s running between the tackles or potentially catching passes out of the backfield too (he does play some wide receiver in high school).

As you know, the Syracuse Orange did not move the ball particularly well on the ground last year, and a lot of that was due to having smaller runners going up the gut. With someone like Pierre, who’s more of a power back, setting the table, there’s a chance for greater success on dives in 2017. Pierre could find himself tossed right into the fire if Babers feels like he understands the extra demands (like calling out defensive alignments and blocking) of the position within this offense.