Syracuse football 2021 National Signing Day preview

While most of the fanfare around recruiting now happens during the early signing period in December, there are still loose ends to tie up on National Signing Day each year. The Syracuse Orange signed 19 players during the early period for the class of 2021, and also added Mississippi State QB transfer Garrett Shrader in the time since.

There are still scholarships available, however. So what can we expect when National Signing Day arrives on Wednesday, February 3?

Unsigned Commits

Jaelin Moss, DT

Moss was the only commit not to sign back in December, but has stated his intention to sign now. He’s a Fairport, N.Y. prospect and is a cousin of Arthur and Chandler Jones, so we should probably feel pretty good he’s coming aboard. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound tackle will be a welcome addition at a position where we could definitely use some long-term depth.

Outstanding Targets

Jakob Bradford, OT

Obviously we REALLY want to add an established starter on the line to help fix a major problem area and give whoever is under center the best chance to succeed. Still, adding a JUCO (Iowa Central Community College) tackle like Bradford is still a net positive that’s going to lend a hand. Originally from Brooklyn Park, Minn., he’s 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, and is graded as a three-star prospect right now according to 247Sports. It seems like SU and Virginia Tech are the top choices. TBD if Mike Cavanaugh’s deaprture has any impact.

Chase Simmons, DE

Simmons is a three-star defensive end who’s been a Coastal Carolina commit since November, but got an Orange offer about a week ago. He’s from Little River, S.C. so definitely a local kid for Coastal. Syracuse is his only Power Five offer, and at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, he probably needs to add a little bit of size to play on the edge. It’s curious why the offer this late in the process, unless SU doesn’t seem to be trending well with transfers on the line.

Longer Term: Transfer Targets?

Given last year’s struggles, a ton of freshmen playing and the potential questions around Dino Babers’s job security past 2021 right now, it would make sense that Syracuse could make several additions from the transfer portal... even if those don’t come on Wednesday.

The top name right now is Texas transfer Willie Tyler, who’s 6-foot-7 and 335 pounds and would be a great addition inside for Syracuse. He’s also a grad transfer with three years remaining, so would not only be able to play right away but becomes a great long-term addition on the line. SU has already offered him, and they’re the only Power Five school to offer him so far.

‘Cuse has also offered several defensive back transfers like Cameron Johnson (North Texas) and Patrice Rene (UNC), who opted for UCLA and Rutgers, respectively.

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Any other names you want to talk more about before we get to Wednesday? Go ahead and discuss below.