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Name: Maximilian Mang
Position: Tight End
Year: Freshman
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 250 lbs.
Hometown: Nuthetal, Germany
High School: Leibniz-Gymnasium Potsdam (Played with Berlin Rebels in German Football League)
2019 stats: Mang was the first player to sign a NLI in the class of 2020 to officially join the Syracuse Orange.
2020 projections: There are so many tight ends at SU’s disposal so it seems like a redshirt year is on the cards for Mang. But you never know - Luke Benson did wonders for the Orange as a true freshman last season so there may be a place on the field for Mang in 2020.
How’d he get here?: Syracuse was Mang’s lone Power Five offer. He also fielded offers from Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, UMass, and newly-minted 2019 national champions Toledo.
What’d recruiting sites say?: Two stars all around.
Money quote: Rarely do you see a European show a bigger appreciation for football than another sport that requires 11 people per team to do something.
“Three practices in, I really fell in love with it because I saw it was the ultimate team sport,” Mang said. “You need 11 guys who are really going to give it their all and work together to win games.”
Twitter feed: @mang_maximilian
Tweets of wonder: You’ve gotta love a good pun.
The international takeover is hitting its MAX! Orange Nation welcome in Dr. Mang from Germany to the family! #JUICEDUP https://t.co/j8sFHAUjXi
— Dino Babers (@CoachBabersCuse) December 18, 2019
What movie would Dino recommend for him?: ‘Cuse’s class of 2020 announcements on twitter were themed around superheroes. And while Mang was depicted as Doctor Strange, perhaps a better hero to choose would be someone from “Captain America: Civil War,” which has an epic fight scene in Berlin. The German capital is directly to the northeast of Mang’s birthplace of Potsdam and is the city of Mang’s German Football League team, the Berlin Rebels.
Interesting nugget o’interest: Mang and JUCO transfer Mark Petry are reportedly the first German natives to play football for Syracuse, according to SU Athletics. Their records go back to 1946.
Let’s get a look at ya: It’s pretty easy to pick the 6-foot-7 guy out from the tape, even without the arrows pointing at Mang.