Early signing period: 2021 DT Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff signs with Syracuse Orange

Recruiting season is back! College football’s early signing period begins today for the class of 2021, and the Syracuse Orange are adding new recruits starting Wednesday (through maybe Friday). As each player signs on the dotted line, we’re posting profiles here on TNIAAM. Next up is Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff, defensive tackle from the Bronx, top 10 recruit from New York.

Twitter feed: @ElijahFuentes19

Hometown: Bronx, NY

Previous School: Cardinal Hayes

Stats: 6’4”, 260 lbs.

Commitment date: August 22, 2020

Position: Defensive Tackle

Ratings: 3 Stars from 247 & ESPN, 2 from Rivals (booooo).

Other Offers: Elijah was getting looks from BC, State University of New Jersey, Buffalo, and Duke.

Dino’s projected nickname: “King of New York”

Player Breakdown: Fuentes-Cundiff has the size that not a lot of his other classmates does, already coming in at defensive line weight. However, he comes in a lot more raw than his counterparts due to his ability to just bowl over NYC competition. There’s some bias here, but he reminds me a lot of former ‘Cuse offensive lineman Rob Trudo who was able to simple part offensive lineman at will at the high school level and took a couple of years to develop technique to compliment the raw strength. He definitely has the talent to become a staple in the center of the defensive line and take up multiple lineman like we saw with McKinley Williams this season, just not something I’d expect year one unless injuries decimate the defensive line.

Highlights: