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The Syracuse Orange picked up their latest commitment in the Class of 2022, this time from offensive lineman Joe Cruz. Cruz is a Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y. native, hailing from Sachem North High School. The 6-foot-6, 280 pound prospect is the first commit from New York to the Orange in this recruiting class.
After a great Talk with @CoachBabersCuse and @CoachM_Schmidt I’m happy to announce my Verbal Commitment to Syracuse University to continue my football and academic career!! Thank you for the opportunity and can’t wait for the future @sachemnorthFB @CoachLauri pic.twitter.com/jXn3WhArA1
— Joe Cruz (@joe_m_cruz17) August 5, 2021
Per Mike McCallister of SI, Cruz took an unofficial this past weekend, meeting with Coach Babers and offensive line coach Mike Schmidt, and has committed after receiving an offer from the staff. Cruz also held offers from Stony Brook and Lafayette, with some other P5 schools sniffing around, including Pitt and Rutgers.
From the offer list, he looks to be a work in progress, but from his film, there’s some things to like. He moves, pulls and gets to the second level well for his size, a major piece of the puzzle for a trapping offense such as Babers’. His sets on pass protection are better than a lot of high school kids that you see. Overall, this may be a technical pickup that the staff can develop. He seems to have the frame and the technique and could develop with a college strength and conditioning program.
At this point, there are no ratings on the major services for Cruz, possibly flying under the radar in a still-COVID influenced recruiting cycle. He becomes the 10th commit for the Orange this cycle and is the first offensive lineman to commit in the 2022 class.