Doug Marrone has done something he’s never attempted before: Offer a scholarship to a high school sophomore. Quarterback DeShone Kizer from Toledo, OH is the class of ’14, and Syracuse is hot on his trail. It’s easy to see why SU broke the mold for Kizer. His physical potential is oozing at 6‚Äô5‚Äù, 207 lbs. The signal caller has pro height already and will undoubtedly add 15-20 pounds by the time he graduates. He‚Äôs a dual-threat player who moves fluidly in the pocket and is elusive in the open field. Kizer also does something Ryan Nassib’s typically incapable of – showing great touch on his passes. He simply looks like a natural quarterback, and he has two more seasons left before he could land on the Hill. The Orange have a pretty strong selling point as well – the starting quarterback job is wide open after Nassib graduates.
We‚Äôre exactly one month removed from SU’s most successful National Signing Day¬†under Marrone, but the school is in a tricky spot. Without high-end facilities, a reputation for recent success, or a pipeline of big-time talent, SU has to get creative on the recruiting trail. The Orange staff has to develop relationships early, build a significant trust with the player, and take some fliers on kids who are not quite BCS-ready.¬†
Well, staking your program to a recruit early? That’s certainly the idea behind offering a sophomore.¬†Wayne Morgan was the biggest recruit in this year‚Äôs class, and the key was SU‚Äôs early interest and persistence throughout. Morgan told The Fizz SU being first in was a huge factor in pushing away late offers from schools like Penn State, and choosing the Orange over Connecticut. Julian Whigham was in the same boat. He had verbally committed to SU in the summer and wouldn‚Äôt even take an unofficial visit to hometown Miami (FL) after the Canes offered late. Josh Manley also spurned Mizzou late because of his longstanding relationship with the coaches.
SU has to get in early on Kizer because this is going to be a fiercely fought recruiting battle. He was just named to 247Sports All-America team for the class of 2014. Kizer already has another offer from hometown Toledo as well. And, yes, Ohio State and Urban Meyer have shown interest. A Google search for “DeShone Kizer football recruit” returns a lot of results for Buckeyes message boards.
This is going to be a tough sell for Marrone if (when) the big boys get involved. Ideally, SU’s can string together a few bowls in the next two years, take advantage of the ACC move, and close the gap between it and programs like OSU. Syracuse can never be a blue-chip football factory. But it can be a respected school on the gridiron, and begin pulling in higher-end talent.¬†
The early offer to Kizer will hopefully have him pondering this question in 23 months: Do I choose the big name program or the school that has believed in me since I was a sophomore?
The formula isn’t foolproof. For as much as it worked for Morgan, Whigham and Manley, Indiana runningback Boom Perkins spurned the Orange twice for bigger schools that came in late. But this is what SU has to do as it climbs up the football food chain. Marrone has told The Fizz how crucial it is to convince that first 5-star recruit to join the Orange. It creates momentum and a domino effect. Will it work? Talk to you in two years.
Posted: Craig Hoffman
14 responses to “Doug’s Decision: Why Syracuse’s Offer to Sophomore DeShone Kizer is Smart”
Doug Marrone is the right man for this job. He is doing all he can to get the best recruits (and playing by the rules)
Time for an established named quarterback coach.
Yes! …football recruiting news! What about the class of 2013?
I think that if we could just put a few million into upgrading the practice and training facilities like we have for basketball, then it would help our recruiting. We may have to in order to stay competitive in the ACC, but then again playing in the ACC will bring in more money to do so. Still, in the meantime, I like the aggressive strategy that Marrone is taking on the recruiting trail, while still following the rules.
No Ex’Cuses – A) Great name. Love it. B) The facilities have to get upgraded. It’s no coincidence that Syracuse is on a sick recruiting run in basketball since Melo was built. We’ve talked about this. Begged for it. Hopefully soon something will happen.
Frank – Hackett is the QB coach right now and has moderate name recognition because of his dad and is well respected within coaching circles. It’s hard to find a “well established” QB coach because that means he’s ready to move on to be at least an OC at the college level, if not a QB coach or better in the pros. Great idea in theory (and you can certainly upgrade from Hackett) but you have to find a diamond in the rough.
Derek – SU’s made a few offers here and there. We’ll certainly have more in the coming weeks.
Frank – I think so too man. Hard to keep perspective and see the process, but it’s going. This kid would be huge.
i really feel secure with marrone at the helm, this program is making strides.
this is the first football post since signing day, with lacrosse on a slight decline and basketball always near the top, the re-emergence of the football team will take flight with the move to the acc, but honestly do we have shots at the Alvin Kamaras and DeShone Kizers or are we just letting our hopes up?
How about the miss on the JR. DE from NYC that committed to UConn. What goes?? Another miss by HCDM. Yeah its way to early and this NEW YORK STATE kid could change his mind. But to lose to Coach P and UConn is uncalled for, since its one of OUR own.
wy would anybody good commit before we know who the next coach is going too be?everyone know’s HCDM won’t be here come Deccember and the high 3 and 4 star recruit’s will only come here as a last resort untill we get much better.It’s a sign of desperation on Marrone’s status!Let’s get rid of Gross while were at it!
The “DE” was offered by RU a while after he commited to UCONN and decommited and has been spending some time visiting the Scarlet Knight’s,so u still have a shot at him….I assume he was flying a little under the radar.
[…] Doug’s Decision: Why Syracuse’s Offer to Sophomore DeShone …Feb 29, 2012 … Quarterback DeShone Kizer from Toledo, OH is the class of ‘14, and … Morris Tells Fizz He’s a Homerun Threat, Wants to Be Next Great SU … […]
To this Russell macclown Wtf r u talkin about hcdm will be here for the next 10 yrs at least. U don’t know anything about fb so shut up the only thing u said worth reading is get rid of gross he is the prob and a fake Dr. Lol we r on the up and up it takes time and that is something we HAVE
Newer equipment is needed for sure. That’s y we left big all over conference so we could put some money into our aging set up our practice and work out areas need upgrades the dome is still very nice for college and indoors is the only way we can ever bring kids to play in this cold winter climate. The big east was playing games w/espn on the new deal and keeping Syracuse from getting its needed contract money for at least an extra yr. Now with the acc wr get the cash now or much sooner as well as like 75% more so we can actually buy some nice modern equipment and show the recruits we r serious about them succeeding here it goes a long way w/young men if u show them u r trying to put them in position to b all they can b it only takes some $ and some upgrades to show them we do care about being relevant and winning I kno i do that’s y I bought 2 sets of season tickets for fb as soon as I could that’s my effort to show the school the community cares and wants a good team like we had for 50 yrs straight
I really like it when individuals get together and share opinions.
Great site, continue the good work!