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Name: Kingsley Jonathan
Position: Defensive end
Year: Sophomore
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 255
Hometown: Baltimore
High School: St. Francis Academy
2017 Stats: Appeared in eight games at defensive end last year for the Syracuse Orange, including some extended time against Central Connecticut. Had four sacks on the season.
2018 Projectionns: The spring depth chart put him as a first-teamer, but it’s more likely he backs up Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson, both of whom should start. With luck he’ll get more consistent time though as part of the end rotation along with Brandon Berry as well.
How’d he get here: Said thanks but no thanks to most of the ACC; turning down Duke, Florida State, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest (plus Tennessee and South Carolina) to head to Central New York.
What’d recruiting sites say? Everyone said three stars.
Money Quote: Syracuse.com’s Stephen Bailey had some high praise for Jonathan from spring ball:
“One second-year player beginning to come in to his own is Kingsley Jonathan. After playing sparingly last fall, the sophomore defensive end returned this spring with a more filled-out frame and picked up valuable experience repping with the first team.
Jonathan plays with passion and may be best positioned to contribute behind Robinson and Coleman, who project to dominate the snap share.”
Twitter feed: It appears he’s done with Twitter.
Tweets of wonder: There was a bit of confusion around his name last year, which was later cleared up.
Despite basically every previous media report, there's this: Syracuse's new DE is actually named Kingsley Jonathan and not Jonathan Kingsley
— Nate Mink (@MinkNate) February 1, 2017
What movie would Dino recommend for him? Given Kingsley’s regal first name, how about “The King and I” — the 1956 version, featuring Yule Brenner and Deborah Kerr? As you may already know, the film’s about a live-in governess to the King of Siam. It’s a pretty well-known story.
Interesting nugget o’interest: Originally from Nigeria, his full name is Chukwuemeka Kingsley Jonathan. Chukwuemeka means “God has done something great,” which is pretty cool.
Let’s get a good look at ya: Julian Whigham snagged some footage from spring drills.
1.) #85 Josh Black & #57 Kingsley Jonathan. Great job by both—Jonathan shows excellent burst and takes the inside w/ great use of his hands. Black is about to have a year, dominated his man, holds his gap and has great leverage—no gain. pic.twitter.com/MYcKbbJ6vN
— Julian Whigham (@JulianWhigham) March 22, 2018