Syracuse may not have a 2019 QB, making Chance Amie even more important

A little less than a year ago, the Syracuse Orange lost a major recruiting battle for a quarterback in the class of 2018. Chance Amie, a dual-threat out of Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Tex., chose to stay close to home, snubbing the Orange for Houston.

But a chain of events would change Amie’s path, securing Syracuse football’s future under center. Less than two weeks before the early enrollee signing period, Houston’s offensive coordinator left for a job at Florida, leading Amie to make a previously unanticipated official visit to the Hill. Three days after that visit, Amie flipped his commitment to the Orange, signed with the team on December 20. He would find himself on campus within the next month for the start of classes.

As the Syracuse coaching staff has looked to sign a quarterback for the class of 2019, the importance of landing Amie has been becoming more and more clear as Dino Babers’ top targets are falling off the board. Spencer Brasch (Gilbert, Ariz.) was the likely the most desirable recruit available for SU a week ago, but on June 12 he gave his verbal commitment to Cal. Among other priority targets, Sam Johnson (Walled Lake, Mich.) committed to Boston College back on May 7, Gunner Cruz (Queen Creek, Ariz.) gave his verbal to Washington State on May 31, and back on June 6 Jacob Clark (Rockwall, Tex.) committed to Minnesota.

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

As available QB options have been dropping like flies, many of the signal callers still available are still 3-stars, but have not been getting nearly as much attention. Among these options remaining are Curt Casteel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Robert Harvey Jr (Orlando), Nate Martens (St. Louis) and Jakson Thomson (Dallas). Almost all of those targets either have better offers or would not be certain takes by the coaching staff, leaving the possibility open that SU may not sign a quarterback in the coming class, or at least not one that would push too hard for a starting spot.

Because of this, Syracuse can be grateful it was able to get Amie to sign. He’s a more-than-competent passer and even though redshirt-freshman Tommy DeVito is the odds-on favorite to succeed Eric Dungey at QB, Amie should be able to put up a fight along with Rex Culpepper. Plus, should DeVito goes down at some point in 2019 or beyond, the coaches and fans would not have to worry about the talent filling in behind center.