Get to Know Your Orange Man: #99, DL Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff

Name: Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff

Position: Defensive Tackle

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 275 lbs

Class: Freshman

Hometown: Bronx, N.Y.

High School: Cardinal Hayes

2020 stats: Don’t have season-by-season numbers, but Fuentes-Cundiff managed 14 TFLs during his career at Cardinal Hayes. He was also a team captain.

2021 projections: Given the number of returning players on the line for the Syracuse Orange, it would make some sense to see Fuentes-Cundiff redshirt this season before competing for a spot on the two-deep in 2022. With the top four defensive linemen all graduating, there will be a lot of questions around who takes their place. Elijah certainly has the size already.

How’d he get here?: Despite interest from Boston College, Duke, Rutgers, Wake Forest and others — and some Crystal Ball predictions showing him as a BC lean — he opted to stay in his home state and play for the Orange.

What’d recruiting sites say?: ESPN and 247Sports were smart and said he was a three-star prospect. Rivals thought otherwise and went with two. We’ll know in the next few years who was right.

Twitter feed: @ElijahFuentes19

Tweets of wonder: Syracuse knocked it out of the park with these album cover edits to announce signings for 2021.

What movie would Dino recommend for him?: You could opt for any number of Elijah Wood films, but we’ll go with Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. As you probably know, Wood stars as Frodo. There’s a lot more to it than that, of course. But that’s what watching the sprawling movie is for.

Interesting nugget o’interest: Fuentes-Cundiff is one of two Cardinal Hayes signees from the 2021 class, along with Malik Matthew. Unfortunately having a couple teammates on the Orange already wasn’t enough to sway three-star 2022 QB Henry Belin IV, however, as he wound up picking Duke earlier this summer.

Let’s get a look at ya: You’re getting some signing day highlights, of course.