Early signing period: 2021 LB Austin Roon signs with Syracuse

It’s that time of year once again! College football’s early signing period starts today for the class of 2021, and the Syracuse Orange will be adding new recruits from Wednesday through maybe Friday — though it’s likely all gets wrapped up today. As each player signs, we’ll be posting profiles here on TNIAAM. Next up is Austin Roon, who joins SU from the state of Michigan.

Twitter feed: @roonaustin

Hometown: Byron Center, Mich.

Previous School: Byron Center

Stats: 6’4”, 220 lbs.

Commitment date: May 24, 2020

Position: Outside Linebacker

Ratings: 247 and ESPN both said three stars as an outside linebacker, while Rivals gave him two stars as an inside linebacker.

Other Offers: He had offers from a variety of schools, including Arizona State, Air Force, Army, Buffalo, Toledo and Ohio, among others.

Dino’s projected nickname: “The Roon-ba is going to be vacuuming up ball-carriers at the Dome”

Player Breakdown: Roon played on both sides of the ball in high school, and you can see he possesses a ton of speed and athleticism in his tape. On the defensive side of the ball, he’s more of a read-and-react outside linebacker, who can cause havoc, but also doesn’t get overly aggressive. He has an ability to both tackle in the open field and disrupt passing lanes. We haven’t had a lot of linebackers lately who stay at home and affect plays from the middle of the field, though Roon could certainly be one of those types of players.

Highlights: