The Daily Orange

John Kinder didn't recognize the phone number.

The 10-digit combination was unfamiliar to the star high school quarterback. In the short time following his recent commitment last spring to play football for Syracuse, the 6-foot-3 190 pound dual-threat quarterback had heard an increased buzz about himself. But he wasn't expecting this phone call, where the only thing he recognized was the first three numbers - 516, the area code of his native Nassau (N.Y.) County on Long Island.

When the high school senior picked up the line, it was someone from near his hometown. But it also happened to be someone from Kinder's future residence at Syracuse - legendary SU quarterback Don McPherson.

"He was just telling me that I will have a lot of fun," Kinder said. "Telling me that it is tough playing quarterback for the Orange, but to keep up the good work."

Kinder and fellow Orange quarterback recruit Jonny Miller will make up the first pair of quarterback commitments to the team since 2007, and headline the Class of 2010 - the first full recruiting class for head coach Doug Marrone. The duo makes up two of the top four recruits the Orange received verbal commitments from thus far.

McPherson, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame who led Syracuse to an undefeated season in 1987, hails from West Hempstead, N.Y. A little less than 25 years ago, McPherson grappled with the same situation, the same butterflies Kinder is experiencing now. All around the same New York City neighborhoods.

That's why Kinder thinks the former Maxwell Award winner reached out to him. In the young quarterback's mind perhaps it was an easy call to make. The right call to make.

"He's right around the corner from us," Kinder said. "He gave me a call because he knew where I was from."

The excitement and positive reception surrounding SU's two quarterback commitments have been greater this year than in years past, with Kinder garnering comparisons to McPherson, and Miller being lauded for his potential and advanced technique.

"That's just an honor," Kinder said about the comparison to McPherson. "I'm taken aback by that."

Though Kinder is receiving all of the lofty comparisons to a Syracuse legend, Miller, who led Mullen (Colo.) High School to a state championship last year, is far from an afterthought. Both players got three stars in rankings published at Scout.com.

Comparisons have accompanied Miller's play as well, albeit 1,800 miles away from McPherson and Kinder's alcove on Long Island. Miller, with his advanced pocket presence and mechanics, has been likened to a quarterback who has resided halfway across the country for almost the entirety of the past two decades.

Continued...

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