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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?
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