Signing Day Articles
SU Recruiting Through the Years
by The Mole
1993-1994

Donovan McNabb, QB, IL
Jason Poles, ATH, NJ
Phil Nash, DB, FL (resign)
Kevin Johnson, QB, NJ
Randy Swanson, RB, NJ
DeSean Moore, RB, MD
Jermaine Stafford, WR, NY
Mike Butler, DT, JC, NY
Mike Russnok, OL, NY
Kaseem Sinceno, TE, NY
Stan Gibbs, LB/FB, NJ
Sean Summerville, DB, PA
Scott Kiernan, OL, CT
Darryl Daniels, WR, PA
Dan Olivis, OL, JC, CA
Olindo Mare, K/P, JC, FL
Shawn Collins, LB, NJ (Transfer from Michigan)

All-Americans:

McNabb , Johnson , Stafford, Sinceno

Losses:

Vernon Rollins (Iowa), Buddy Rodgers (Maryland), Pete Donnelly (Rutgers), Damond Neely (Miami), Floyd Wedderburn (Penn State), Jeff Wertalik (North Carolina), Ben Washington (South Carolina), Teako Brown (Florida).

Commentary:

This was the lowest rated class in recent memory for Syracuse, not cracking anyone’s top 25. Yet this class went on to win three straight Big East titles, the last two outright. The names that jump out at you are McNabb and Johnson, both have gone on to bigger and better things in the NFL. Sinceno also plays in the NFL Nash,
Poles, Kiernan, Gibbs, Daniels and Mare all proved to be effective players at the college level and (in Mare’s case) beyond. The Jucos other than Mare were a wash and Moore and Stafford--the two fastest guys in the class--never made it to campus. Looking at the vaunted players that Syracuse lost (and you better believe these guys were very highly rated) only Wedderburn was a high NFL pick. The rest faded into obscurity. The most
bizarre part of this class was Collins, who came in with an eye condition and was quietly dismissed from the team. All in all this class shaped up to be above average and certainly above expectations.



1994-1995

Rob Konrad, FB, MA
Kyle McIntosh, RB, CT
John Wellington, OL, NJ
Frank Guifre, OL, NY
Mark Baniewicz, TE, NY
Sant Sikand, OL, CA
Tim Glisker, LB, NY
Brian Coleman, DT, OH
Nate Trout, K, FL
Marc Pilon, DL, CN
Jeff Pilon, OL, CN
Bill O’Donnell, OL, NJ
Donald Dinkins, DT, CT
Mike Dresner, DT, NJ
Keith Bullock, LB, NY
Matt Klaus, LB, NJ
Jeff Lowe, WR, NY
Vernon Banks, DB, NY
Jamont Kinds, DB, PA
Cory Bowen, OL, PA
Steven Brominski, TE, PA
Nick Sudano, FB, OH
Mike Bennett, WR, PA
Kevin O’Neill, DB, NJ
Mathieu Beaudoin, DT, CN
Darryl Stroope, TE, NY


All-Americans:

Konrad, Wellington, McIntosh, Guifre

Losses:

Desmond Thomas (Michigan State), Dexter Jackson (Florida State), Jason Bostic (Georgia Tech), Chafie Fields (Penn State), Raheem Miller (Michigan State), Cordell Mitchell (Penn State), Brad Messina (Maryland), Keith Newman (North Carolina) Jake Pluta (Rutgers), Ivan Ramos (Rutgers), Bill Greene (Michigan State).

Commentary:

One columnist listed this class in the top 10, generally viewed as top 25 material. It was most impressive in terms of numbers as overall twenty-eight prospects signed on. Konrad and Wellington were at the head of the class. Only Kinds was academically ineligible. Konrad, McIntosh, Bowen, Pilon, Baniewicz, Pilon, Sudano, Bullock, Dinkins, O’Donnell, Trout, Coleman, Lowe and Banks all became major contributors to the program. And the losses seem less severe, too. Jackson was a starter for Florida State, but at safety. Syracuse recruited him as a quarterback. Jones and Fields were all-everything performers in high school and have had some success in college, too. Newman was a very good linebacker for North Carolina. This recruiting class has been the heart of Syracuse the past couple of years and has to be seen positively because of it. Konrad is already in the pros, with Bullock and even Baniewicz possibly following him into those ranks.



1995-1996

Kyle Johnson, RB, NJ
Dee Brown, QB, FL
Jamont Kinds, DB, PA (resign)
William Spencer, FB, DC
Ike Ihejeto, TE, DC
Ian McIntosh, WR, CT
Quentin Spotwood, WR, NJ
Vaughn Smith, DT, MD
Emerson Kilgore, DT, RI
Cliff Snell, DE, MA
Morlon Greenwood, LB, NY
Sheldon King, LB, NJ
Will Allen, DB, NY
Jon Murphy, LB, PA
Robert Lewis, DE, NY
Maynard “Duke” Pettijohn, LB, MA
Eric Downing, DT, NJ
Pat Woodcock, WR, CN
Raul Alleyne, WR, CN
Derrick Corley, DT, FL
Ronnie Moore, DT, FL
Kahlil White, LB, FL
Dennis McCormack, LB, FL
Aaron Lewis, TE, TX

All-Americans:

McIntosh, Spotwood, Smith, Snell

Losses:

Raki Nelson (Notre Dame), Rashon Spikes (N.C. State), Rashard Casey (Penn State), Johnny Ponder (Virginia), Derek Edmonds (Tennessee), Quincy Hipps (Miami), Donald Heaven (Florida State), Bernard Gooden (Tennessee), Anthony Thompson (Illinois), Dermal Brown (Maryland).

Commentary:

A well-regarded class that was probably a Rashard Casey away from being very highly rated. McIntosh and Spotwood were both top 100 type prospects and Smith also made some top 100 lists. Greenwood and Pettijohn, arguably the top two college players of the group, were both sleeper prospects. Downing, Allen, Brown and
Johnson have also proven to be very good players. Woodcock is another sleeper from this class. Robert Lewis and Jon Murphy both qualify as this year’s bizarre recruiting stories. Lewis was silently released from his scholarship after sexual assault charges were brought against him and Jon Murphy left, came back and left again in a story that had so many twists and turns you would swear it was fiction. Hipps, Heaven, Casey and Nelson
were the highest rated of the guys Syracuse missed on, and none of them have performed to the level of their hype, though I would still like to have had Casey playing QB for Syracuse this past season. Edmonds’ brother Cedric has signed with Syracuse; Derrick was thought to be headed to Syracuse before changing his mind and opting for the Volunteers.



1996-1997


Ali Culpepper, RB, MD
Graham Manley, TE, MD
Jeremy Cooper, WR, NJ
James Mungro, RB, PA
Madei Williams, QB, PA
Malik Campbell, QB, NY
Idris Price, LB, CT
Joseph Burton, OL, CT
P.J. Alexander, OL, FL
Giovani DeLoatch, DT, NJ
J.R. Johnson, DB, NY
Rickie Simpkins, DT, NY
Damien Mallery, DE, NY
Rodney Wells, LB, FL
ArDarrell Thomas, LB, FL
Maurice Minter, WR, NY
Sheldon King, LB, NJ
Sean O’Connor, OL, NJ
Maurice Jackson, WR, NY
Ahmaud McDonald, DT, PA
Charles Burton, DB, TX
Quentin Harris, DB, PA
Peter Ferris, K, NJ
Dave Dunkin, P, JC, PA
Mark Holtzman, LB, PA
Peter Moore, DT, CN

All-Americans:

Culpepper, Mungro, Burton, Mallery

Losses:

Lamont Jordan (Maryland), Omar Easy (Penn State), Cooper Rego (Notre Dame/West Virginia), Brandon Moore (Oklahoma), Derrick Jones (Maryland), Mycal Jones (Northwestern), Ravon Anderson (North Carolina), Riley Jefferson (Rutgers), Edmond Stansbury (UCLA), Cedric Cormier (Colorado), Aleous Chambers (S. Florida), Rasheed Golden (Wisconsin), Tommy Moody (Florida), Andra Davis (Florida), Kennard Ellis (Florida).

Commentary:

I thought this class was better than it was rated when they signed. It has since lost some luster with the transfers of Culpepper and Mallery, but I still believe that if Syracuse is to bounce back into prominence, it is going to be on the back of this class. Current starters Burton, O’Conner, Harris and Simpkins, plus potential starters like J.R. Johnson, P.J. Alexander, Rodney Wells and Graham Manley must step up this spring. At least one of the receivers from the group of Campbell, Cooper and Minter must step forward as well. (Since writing this Cooper and Minter have moved to DB, meaning the Juco’s Jackson and Leverette should be substituted for them in the above statement) Of the guys who went elsewhere at least Jordan and Davis have stepped into starting roles on
other campuses. For the most part this class has been successful, but they need to improve upon what they’ve done so far. Mungro, Johnson and Harris look like potential NFL types.



1997-1998

Troy Nunes, QB, PA
Keon Walker, RB, NJ
Jay Chapman, WR, DC
LaTroy Oliver, ATH, CT
Chris Davis, RB, FL
Lamar Sturdivant, DB, NJ
Adonis Kinsey, WR, NY
George Scott, FB, NY
David Tyree, WR, NJ
Erik Kalyonides, OL, MA
Shane LaVigne, OL, NY
Phil Bogle, OL, NY
Jerry Williams, DT, NY
Dwight Freeney, DE, CT
Maurice McClain, DB, NJ
Jason Howard, DB, NY
Sean Kennedy, WR, OH
Eric Downing, DT, JC, NJ
Andre Brinson, RB-DB, FL
Willie Ford, DB, NH
Will Hunter, DB, PA

All-Americans:

Tyree, McClain, Kinsey

Losses:

Michael Vick (Virginia Tech), Brian St. Pierre (Boston College), Brandon Williams (Pittsburgh), Marquise Walker (Michigan), Jim Kennedy (Penn State), George Stanley (Virginia), Euless Booker (Michigan State), Tyler Valoczki (Penn State), Chris Smith (Minnesota), Anthony Weaver (Notre Dame), DeJuan Groce (Nebraska), Derrick Joseph (Tulane), Willie Northern (Auburn), Chris Reynolds (Florida).

Commentary:

The class that did the least with the most. This was perhaps the strongest year for talent in the state of New York in the recent past and Syracuse struck out on some big ones. Walker, Kennedy, Smith and Weaver top the list. All but Smith made impacts on their teams within the first two years. Syracuse also missed out on their top QB targets, particularly on Vick, who was the Big East Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year as a redshirt-freshman. Coming on the heels of Syracuse’s first outright Big East championship this was a very disappointing year. However, Freeney, Oliver, Ford and Downing are good players and McClain, Walker, Davis, Scott, Tyree and Kalyonides have potential to be keepers. Nunes is the most prominant name of the group, but was strictly a B-list guy, no matter what the hype machine pumps out. This year is most noteworthy for the signing of B-listers Bogle, LaVigne and Nunes. This class has evaporated since signing day as Bogle, Chapman, Sturdivant, Kinsey, Howard and Kennedy are not on the team.



1998-1999

Joe Donnelly, TE, CT
Jamel Riddle, WR-DB, CT
Len Cusumano, LB-FB, NJ
Rich Scanlon, LB, NJ
Mike Postell, DB, NJ
Christian Ferrara, OL-DE, NJ
Jamel Dumas, LB, NJ
Kevin Sampson, OL, NJ
Clifton Smith, LB, NY
Barry Baker, DB, NY
Josh Thomas, DE, NY
John Glass, OL, PA
Elly Salamo, LB, PA
Tre Mathis, OL, TX
Reggie Everett, LB, FL
Tony Milton, RB, FL
Louis Gachelin, DE, FL
Charles Simpson, DT, FL
Chris Buda, OL, FL
Nick Romeo, OL, FL
Mike Shafer, K/P, FL
R.J. Anderson, QB, CT
Andy Bulman, OL, MA
Idris Price, LB, JC, NY

All-Americans:

Smith, Mathis, Milton, Cusumano, Postell, Donnelly, Gachelin

Losses:

Roy Williams (Florida), Willie Simmons (Clemson), Marcus Waters (Michigan State), Latrez Harrison (Maryland), Thump Belton (Baylor), Pat Durr (Northwestern), J.P. Comella (Boston College), Keith Leavitt (Boston College), Colin McWeeney (Virginia), Augie Hoffman (Boston College), Jamal Lord (Nebraska), Micah Kimball (Virginia), C.J. Leak (Wake Forest), Rod Rutherford (Pittsburgh), Art Thomas (Virginia), Mike Kitchen (Georgia Tech), Derrick Dockery (Texas).

Commentary:

In my opinion the best class of the bunch, the best since the Dulayne Morgan/Donovin Darius/Tebucky Jones class of ‘92-’93. I was surprised that Syracuse didn’t crack everybody’s top 20, but attribute it to a lack of glamor skill-position guys, especially a quarterback. Smith and Shafer have already shown their capablities (as long
as someone can snap it to Shafer) and I love the potential of Anderson, Postell, Gachelin, Scanlon, Cusumano and Donnelly. At least two of the linemen (I predict Buda and Sampson) must step up and make it into the rotation for Syracuse to bounce back. Milton, Glass and Salamo failed to qualify, but Glass is back in the fold for this year (I love his potential, too), Salamo is wearing #44 at SUNY Morrisville (a good sign that Syracuse is still on his mind) and Milton could re-sign, too. Had Syracuse ever signed seven Floridians in one year before last year?