Syracuse football: Decommit and departure from Orange program

The Syracuse Orange football program lost a commit from 2024 priority wide receiver Syair Torrence over the weekend. The Orange also lost a member of the 2023 class as JUCO linebacker Lonnie Rice announced that he left the program.

Torrence, a 3-star wide receiver from nearby CBA Syracuse, was the highest rated recruit of Syracuse’s 2024 recruiting class so far. He was also the first Orange commit in the Class of 2024. Torrence, the brother of former Syracuse men’s basketball guard Symir (who recently transferred to Binghamton), looked to be an electrifying addition to the Orange program. He recently picked up an offer from Michigan State.

It should also be noted that Torrence tagged Jim Salgado, Michigan State’s cornerbacks coach, in his twitter post referencing his offer from the Spartans. While it seems like the Orange were targeting Torrence as a wide receiver, bigger schools might be looking to add the Syracuse native as a defensive back.

CBA Syracuse alum SirVocea Dennis played quarterback for the Brothers during his time in Central New York, but joined Pitt as a linebacker. He was just picked in the 5th round of the NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That might give Torrence the inspiration to play defense for a bigger Power Five school.

Rice was a part of Syracuse’s 2023 class as a JUCO transfer from Lackawanna CC. He was considered the best JUCO or high school recruit that Syracuse acquired in the class of 2023 by most recruiting sites. Even though he said in his announcement post that he “decommitted” from the Orange, a Syracuse spokesperson confirmed to NunesMagician that Rice was a part of the December signing class. That means Rice at the signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Syracuse.

No matter what the case, the Orange lose two players that could’ve been key contributors immediately. Receiver depth is up in the air after the upcoming season, especially with Oronde Gadsden eligible for the NFL draft at the conclusion of the 2023 campaign. Torrence could’ve been a contender for a large amount of snaps after All-CNY honors in his latest season with CBA Syracuse. Given Syracuse’s depth at defensive back, especially with the recent additions of transfer corners Jayden Bellamy and Jaeden Gould, the Orange were probably not looking at Torrence as a defensive option.

As for Rice, given the high-octane nature of the 3-3-5 defense, an extra linebacker even for depth purpose wouldn’t hurt the Orange. Syracuse dropped to a two linebacker formation for the Pinstripe Bowl at the end of last season due to injuries. The Orange also played with a two linebacker formation for the spring game. Having another capable linebacker like Rice would’ve certainly been nice to rely on.

Syracuse is already active in the second transfer portal with multiple offers and visits scheduled for this past weekend. As for the class of 2024, the Orange are down to three recruits committed so far.