The Daily OrangeEHALT: Win over Rutgers begins winds of change in New York recruiting
By Matt Ehalt
Posted: 11/23/09, 8:18 AM EST Section: Sports
The identity problem for the Syracuse football team is over.
During the last four years, the Orange started to wonder if it really could live up to the moniker as "New York's College Team." Before soaring to a 31-13 win Saturday, SU had lost its previous four contests against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights, traditionally a Big East doormat, began dominating the recruiting war for players in the New York region.
Consider Saturday's win a boost of confidence for Syracuse's ego.
"We went in there and we wanted to show who New York's team was," tailback Delone Carter said when asked about the importance of Saturday's game to recruiting. "We want to get the recruit to come to Syracuse, and this is our little oomph to get them our way."
Though the victory gave Syracuse its first win in Big East play under Doug Marrone, it perhaps meant more for the recruits that stand on the sideline in the Carrier Dome week after week. Particularly, those that reside in the southern part of the state and in surrounding areas.
It's no secret that former Orange head coach Greg Robinson didn't make a full-hearted effort to recruit the tri-state area. He let Rutgers, a team with much less prestige and history than Syracuse, sneak in there and start stealing away recruits.
Just imagine if Syracuse could have landed New Rochelle's Ray Rice a few years back instead of watching him go to Rutgers.
So in comes Marrone, and he wants to get back to recruiting New York City and the surrounding areas.
He tells everybody who wants to listen that he needs to get back to being the dominant team in that area. He hires a secondary coach in John Anselmo who coached in Long Island and knows the coaches in the area. He goes down to the schools to meet their coaches and let them know he will be down there. He signs the New York City Player of the Year in Staten Island's Torian Phillips.
But this plan will take time. In his 2009 class, Marrone signed just three players from the New York City area, with only one (Phillips) being a high school athlete from the New York City area. The other two, center Zach Chibane and offensive lineman Andrew Tiller, came from New Jersey and Nassau Community College, respectively.
During the last four years, the Orange started to wonder if it really could live up to the moniker as "New York's College Team." Before soaring to a 31-13 win Saturday, SU had lost its previous four contests against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights, traditionally a Big East doormat, began dominating the recruiting war for players in the New York region.
Consider Saturday's win a boost of confidence for Syracuse's ego.
"We went in there and we wanted to show who New York's team was," tailback Delone Carter said when asked about the importance of Saturday's game to recruiting. "We want to get the recruit to come to Syracuse, and this is our little oomph to get them our way."
Though the victory gave Syracuse its first win in Big East play under Doug Marrone, it perhaps meant more for the recruits that stand on the sideline in the Carrier Dome week after week. Particularly, those that reside in the southern part of the state and in surrounding areas.
It's no secret that former Orange head coach Greg Robinson didn't make a full-hearted effort to recruit the tri-state area. He let Rutgers, a team with much less prestige and history than Syracuse, sneak in there and start stealing away recruits.
Just imagine if Syracuse could have landed New Rochelle's Ray Rice a few years back instead of watching him go to Rutgers.
So in comes Marrone, and he wants to get back to recruiting New York City and the surrounding areas.
He tells everybody who wants to listen that he needs to get back to being the dominant team in that area. He hires a secondary coach in John Anselmo who coached in Long Island and knows the coaches in the area. He goes down to the schools to meet their coaches and let them know he will be down there. He signs the New York City Player of the Year in Staten Island's Torian Phillips.
But this plan will take time. In his 2009 class, Marrone signed just three players from the New York City area, with only one (Phillips) being a high school athlete from the New York City area. The other two, center Zach Chibane and offensive lineman Andrew Tiller, came from New Jersey and Nassau Community College, respectively.
Be the first to comment on this story