This weekend DeShone Kizer will attend the Elite 11 quarterback camp in Columbus, OH without having made a decision. Syracuse was enamored with the Class of ’14 QB enough to be one of the first schools to offer him as sophomore. The Fizz profiled him in February ’12, when¬†SU was the second school to offer him. Doug Marrone liked the 6‚Äô5‚Äù, 210 lb. dual-threat out of Toledo, OH with an intent to put the foot in the door early. He was¬†aboard the ‘Cuse QB Carousel last season, but the four-star Kizer has eye-popping offers from Alabama and LSU, among other powers now. It looks like Tennessee, Wisconsin and Notre Dame are also in Kizer’s favorites.
The SEC powerhouses offering Kizer ended up delaying his decision. When he was a sophomore, his offers were from non-BCS schools Toledo and Bowling Green, plus SU and BC. Slowly but surely, he got the attention of Penn State and Ohio State among other big programs. Now, Kizer’s been flooded with attention from an array of schools. Once he received news of Bama and LSU earlier this year, he told ESPN.com’s Jared Shanker his plans did a complete 180:
‚ÄúWe almost prepared to maybe commit to a school. We laid out a few schools and compared and planned on making a decision in two or three weeks. Then this door opened and changed a lot of things.”
A lot‚Äôs changed obviously for Kizer and his recruiting trail. His length and strength separate him from the rest of the dual-threat QBs in his class. 247 Sports ranks Kizer the 4th¬†best dual-threat signal-caller under center. According to Rivals, his interest in Syracuse is low. If there is any good news, it’s that he’s keeping his options open. According to Shanker, he had a top three of Michigan State, North Carolina and Northwestern before the Alabama and LSU offers. He recently said he’s hoping for an offer from Notre Dame. It sounds like the Vols might be one of his favorites as well (he recently tweeted out a photo of a huge Tennessee “T’).
“I’d say I’ll reevaluate things altogether. There’s going to be a few more schools to offer in the next month or two. I’ve had a lot of conversations with UCLA and Stanford, and I’m going to [Los Angeles] in the spring and maybe visit UCLA and go up to Stanford. Once that happens, I’ll try to make a solid top five before a decision.”
The New Orleans Times-Picayune wrote last week:
“Ohio standout Deshone Kizer may make his choice before the summer, perhaps even this weekend at LSU’s recruiting picnic for some of their top prospects. The 6-5, 220-pound dual-threat quarterback has been very high on the Tigers for some time, and with limited numbers available at the position, Kizer’s time may come sooner than later.”
Kizer did not make a decision this past weekend. Two weeks ago he tweeted that both Ohio State and Notre Dame visited him and watched him go through workouts. It was easy to see a¬†high-profile, NFL-body prototype like Kizer skyrocketing up the recruiting rankings. Credit SU and the previous coaching staff. The only way the Orange was going to win a battle like this was by being first in. Like A.J. Long, SU was hoping to build a loyalty and goodwill by offering a Class of ’14 quarterback as early as any BCS school. But once the big boys got involved, Syracuse dropped out of his sights. Luckily, SU nailed down Long. No harm, no foul for the Orange. You gotta swing for the fences. When you connect it’s a homerun.
Posted: Brendan Glasheen
7 responses to “Syracuse Target DeShone Kizer Heads to Elite 11, But Favors Power Programs”
If he goes to LSU he goes. What can SU do. it all stems back to GROB and the thrifty saving$444 by hiring a coach who did not have a clue.
Hats off to Coach Marrone for making this kids and early offer and to Coach Shaf for following up on this kid.
These SEC programs make $$$$$$$$$$$$ and spend it on a PICNIC and invite elite players to attend and meet the Alumni
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Come on SU get your heads out of yo butts and act big time. When you have a Spring Game get the fans involved and give them something to draw them to this game. Don’t be cheap and second rate.
So you wrote an article on a kid that never wanted to go to SU, that SU never had a shot with, and still has no interest in SU. What’s the point of telling us Syracuse isn’t getting a kid that everyone knew we weren’t gonna get.
And it’s not good news he’s keeping his options open, its no news to us. He’s not naming a favorite, but said he favors like 7 powerhouse programs. Syracuse clearly is not getting a look from him, and most likely hasn’t since he started racking up offers.
In other news, the world is round and the sky is blue. I understand it might be a slow news day, but these articles are absolutely pointless.
@Chad This post is aimed at informing everyone Kizer is completely out on Syracuse from the looks of it. When he went through his “reevaluation,” perhaps we could hve heard a peep about SU. Obviously that didn’t happen so we apologize if this comes off as un-newsworthy to you. It’s us simply checking in on a high profile recruit and how offering early doesn’t always secure a chance at landing a player. This worked for AJ Long because Orange was 2nd to offer him and appreciated that. He said SU offering early was a big factor. For Kizer, it obviously doesn’t seem that way.
Thanks for your feedback though! Appreciate it
Glash
Its a shame Kiser’s not interested cause he might be one of the top 5 QB/Athletes out there but knowing were not in the running does put a damper on him!!Eff em I see a lot of hyped busts too!!Plus AJs Longs additional value could be if we get his cousin WR KJ Wms!
oh well time to move on..
Another wasted article on a player SU has no shot at. Again tell us what going on in the NYC/LI area and SU’s inability to get the best HSFB players from these areas!! How many times do we have to remind you and DA about this issue!!
Fear not Terry. We’re all over it. The summer will allow plenty of look ins to the NYC/LI/NJ area.
@Chad – Any look at a player that has an offer from SU is worthy of a write up. One of the things readers of publications and news sites have as their most common complaint is lack of follow ups to stories. News outlets all too often report on breaking news and then forget about ever following the story to the end. Putting the end on a story is just as valuable (sometimes more) as reporting on what’s breaking. To know that a player had one of his 1st scholarships given to him from SU is significant – and it’s always worth looking at. We have daily content on the site (for free I might add) so feel free to peruse all of our other stories if you don’t like what you’re reading. Thanks.