Could the approach be due to new NCAA rules?
The Syracuse Orange football program hasn’t played one game in the Fran Brown era but we’re already talking about recruiting.
After closing the 2024 class with the 36th (247)/38th (On3) ranked class in the country, Syracuse has 28 verbal commitments for 2025, one behind Rutgers for the most among FBS schools. The class is currently ranked 33rd (247) and 49th (On3) and lacks any four-star recruits, despite Syracuse having two four-star commitments already for 2026.
Now it’s still early and there’s opportunity that some players will rise in rankings when they enter their senior season, but looking at the make-up of the class could indicate a few things:
Syracuse’s coaches are identifying players to fit specific roles on the team
We know Fran Brown has emphasized size and speed when it comes to adding players to his roster. He’s also going to trust his eyes when it comes to player evaluation and it doesn’t matter if what he sees doesn’t match an evaluation service.
Syracuse believes the NCAA scholarship limits will be gone next year
The Orange aren’t worried about loading up on early commits because the 85 scholarship limit will be gone. So, Syracuse is grabbing players they can get on campus while knowing that the transfer portal will let them keep adding before 2025.
The staff isn’t afraid to hit the portal so it could be a long-term play to target under the radar prospects because they can fill starting spots with transfers.
Fran Brown is sending a message to Northeast high schools
The 2025 class is heavily slanted towards the Northeast with nine New York commits, three Pennsylvania recruits and two players each from Connecticut and New Jersey. Could the staff be making it known to these area coaches that Syracuse is once again a prime location? It’s certainly exciting for many old school Orange fans that believe the path back to top 25 rankings lies in local players.
At the same time it seems to have lit a fire under Rutgers, so keep an eye on the battle in the Garden State between these two programs.
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
Syracuse doesn’t expect a lot of NIL money to be available to new players
The Orange landed some big transfers along with four four-star freshmen. Could the staff be holding off some of the budget to grab transfers next December? We expect that Syracuse will be in the quarterback market again, but the Orange have the potential to lose a lot of projected starters to graduation and the NFL Draft. Does Syracuse have the depth on the roster to replace them or do they need to have money to pull transfers ready for that role?
Let me be clear, it’s not a bad thing if this is the plan. Investing a lot of resources in high school players is risky, so if you can keep a portion of the NIL budget set aside to grab proven college players you should.
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Syracuse fans shouldn’t be overly concerned if the team ranking isn’t in the top 20. The Orange rebuild isn’t going to happen overnight and the changing NCAA landscape leaves a lot of uncertainty in terms of roster/team development. The success of 2024 and the early outlook for 2026 are proof that Brown’s staff can compete for talent on the recruiting trail and maybe 2025 shows that they have faith in their ability to develop players.