Early signing period: Ranking 2022 Syracuse signees by movie poster tweets

As has been the case for a few years now, the Syracuse Orange football program doesn’t just announce early signing period additions. They prepare custom artwork via Brandon “Bus” Whitaker (who you can read more about here). In the past, we’ve seen album covers and superheroes. In 2022, the theme was movie posters.

There will be more of these when National Signing Day comes around in February. But for now, here’s how we’d rank the movie posters for the 12 early signee players.

1. Quan Peterson - Black Panther (2018)

Are we suckers for Marvel-themed stuff around here? Sure. But Peterson’s Black Panther-themed poster is also just a very cool merging of the movie’s aesthetics and Syracuse-related imagery.

2. Belizaire Bassette - Belly (1998)

Perfect fit here pairing “Beli” and Belly, and tossing Nick Monroe onto the poster is just that extra entertaining step that makes this one stand out. Paying homage to DMX is also an appropriate note eight months after his death earlier this year.

3. Max Von Marburg - Friday the 13th (1980)

There were a lot of directions you could’ve gone instead with the Australian punter, but this one winds up winning because it’s subtly clever. Suggesting our new punter is a killer — with coffin corner punts, of course — is very on-brand.

4. Cornell Perry - Rocky IV (1985)

Rocky IV might just be the best movie in the franchise, and the imagery leans into Perry’s potential success as well as an underdog story.

5. Dom Foster - Space Jam (1996)

While pulling in Michael Jordan for this image could’ve worked given his own family connections to Syracuse, using Otto instead actually makes this a lot more entertaining. Just be glad Dom didn’t request the 2021 Space Jam reboot instead.

6. Joe Cruz - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Whitaker does some great work with the Star Wars font here, and it’s actually good that the image doesn’t try TOO hard to lean all the way into the Star Wars theme. I’m actually surprised Dino hasn’t used the “Orange side” more given his movie appreciation.

7. LeQuint Allen - Paid in Full (2002)

The original Paid in Full poster is powerful on its own, and this rework gets that without taking itself too seriously in the process. “Signed in full” is also a phrase that should be utilized more often around the early signing period/signing day.

8. Mekhi Mason - Menace II Society (1993)

A menace on defense indeed, Mason will join an impressive group of linebackers for Syracuse. Is he actually a menace “for” Syracuse? Sure. But that doesn’t work for the movie we’re referencing here.

9. Donovan Brown - Friday (1995)

If only Donovan (or Otto) had also made Chris Tucker’s facial expression from the original poster as well. Still, “Signing Day” works in the movie’s original font and the “Damnnnnn” reference is also a winner.

10. Denis Jaquez - He Got Game (1998)

There’s an opportunity here to incorporate He Got Game actor Jim Boeheim into this, but the ability to hold off is commendable. Keeping the background stark white also creates great contrast when it would’ve been understandable to lean heavily in orange instead.

11. Chad Schuster - The Waterboy (1998)

Admittedly, it took me a second on this one, but the “high-quality blocking” was the giveaway nod to the original. Would’ve love to see them have Schuster holding a cooler, but that’s an extra step and one of the impressive parts about these is utilizing existing images to make them happen.

12. Jeremiah Wilson - John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

The contrasting orange and blue here make for some cool imagery, and have to appreciate the hesitation to replace the rain with snow given the fact that it’s Syracuse. Entertainingly, this is also one of the only movies included to come out in these players’ respective lifetimes. Now you feel old.

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So those were the ones we liked best. But which were your favorites?