Syracuse football recruiting: WR Donovan Brown commits to Orange

It had been a few weeks since the Syracuse Orange football program made an addition to the recruiting class of 2022, but that changed on Friday night, as SU got its ninth commitment in this cycle, as was first reported by Mike McAllister.

Wide receiver Donovan Brown is a 6-foot-3 wide receiver from Gaithersburg, Md. McAllister notes he’s a track star, and runs a 100-meter dash at just under 11 seconds. Apparently he impressed Syracuse at a Penn State camp, then came to campus on Monday for a visit and workout. That was enough to earn the offer, which he accepted.

Now the speed is great, don’t get me wrong. But one potential question mark here is that Brown is currently unrated and un-scouted by the major recruiting services (a 247 page went up as I wrote this article). There are diamonds in the rough, for sure, and Brown may very well be one — and I don’t want to rain on what’s a big moment for him, either. But given the offensive concerns for the Orange in recent years and the long list of receiver offers out there, one would’ve thought SU could’ve landed someone with at least some evaluation and a three-star rating by this point in the cycle; something he may very well have within the next week or two now.

All of that aside, he has good size and seemingly great speed, and that could be an asset if we’re getting back to a tempo-based offense. Brown’s the first wide receiver to commit for 2022, and only the second offensive player behind running back LeQuint Allen. So you’d figure there will be a greater focus on that side of the ball in the coming months as this class continues to come together.

Welcome aboard, Donovan! You can check out some of his tape below.