Thomas Holley is reportedly down to Penn State and Florida. Just another New York State big recruit who will leave the region and play for a bigger program. He had been courted by SU for years, and visited campus in the summer. Will Syracuse ever land the big fish?
It’s fair to wonder. The Lincoln High defensive lineman¬†stands 6-foot-4, 285-pounds and is rated as the No. 3 DT in the nation for ’14. And because he’s so highly coveted, the Orange couldn’t land him. Same old story.
The trend is sickening for Orange fans. Ebenezer Ogundeko chose Clemson. Chad Kelly also chose the Tigers. Jarron Jones and Ishaq Williams went to Notre Dame. Dominique Easley picked Florida. Gus Edwards went to Miami.
They’ve all had varying degrees of success. Ishaq was supposed to be the monster SU sought. As a junior this year he only tallied 3 tackles, and no sacks. Edwards ran for 300 yards and 4 scores as a true freshman at the U. As a freshman Kelly played some mop up duty in blowouts.
Jones is a redshirt freshman and has seen limited time with the Irish because of work ethic. Coach Brian Kelly said:
“We were looking for a consistent effort. We think he‚Äôs got a lot of skill and great size. We wanted to see that fire every single play, and I liked what he did in the couple of weeks that he was down with (the prep team). That‚Äôs why we elevated him back with our varsity group.‚Äù
Ogundeko is redshirting at Clemson. Easley had a successful career at UF, although suffered an ACL injury. He’s departing early for the NFL Draft this spring.
Would it have been better for these players to attend Syracuse and be a bigger fish in a smaller pond? More playing time, less competition for snaps, more experience, better career? For some, definitely in a football sense. For a guy like Easley, heading to the Gators likely helped out his potential draft stock. For their growth, education and development as a person, it’s anyone’s guess.
Bowl games are an extremely important goal to achieve in college football, and Syracuse is making that a habit. Three in four years means recruits can solidly point to the Hill and know the postseason is the expectation, not the anomaly. But with 6/7 win seasons, and some sparsely attended games at the Dome, it still feels like SU is far away from grabbing one of these headline recruits.
Then again the ACC affiliation helps. A new indoor facility would help. And maybe when you see how these players careers have panned out, it’s not always the stars next to the name. It’s what’s inside that’s most valuable for the Orange.
Posted: D.A.
32 responses to “Thomas Holley Spurns Syracuse: How Have New York’s Other “Big Fish” Fared?”
You cant blame these kids. Young and don’t see SU like us fans do. Obviously it would be great to land the top recruit in the state. Give it sometime.
But if these past NY recruits arent showing any promise at any other big time schools, then that’s something they have to live with. We need to continue to recruit the way we have been and eventually we will get more 4*/5*.
What it comes down is coaching ultimately and which players fit your system.
@DA;
Thanks for giving us insight to what is/was happening with NY’s finest. Your statement on being a big fish in a small pond hit the nail on the head. I just wonder how many of those players realized afrter a couple of years at school had made a mistake and now wish they had come to Syracuse to play.
The very last couple sentences say’s it all for me.”And maybe when you see how these players careers have panned out, it‚Äôs not always the stars next to the name. It‚Äôs what‚Äôs inside that‚Äôs most valuable for the Orange”=HEART,YOU GOTTA HAVE HEART.
Another great article by the Fizz DA. Thank you.
It’s being reported that Syracuse had a huge weekend bringing in recruits like (LB) Nile Sykes,(LB)Jaboree Williams, (CB) Cordell Hudson and (DE) Chris Slayton. I hope they liked what the saw and some of them select Syracuse as their next stop to play the game on the way to the NFL.
Who cares. These kids do not see what the Jones’ Bros have done at SU and in the NFL.
Come to SU and Play
Jay Bromley is from the City and is a very well spoken man, I guess the bar at SU is too high for some of these guys.
Ron,Slayton would be nice but I’ve been following his recruiting as he lives in Montclair NJ next town over from my sister and word is he’s favoring “but who knows” WVU or playing with his cousin J Pinnick-Odrick at RU and heard MSU is making a late push? If we can get his 6’5″240lb butt up here it would be great as I think he’s way under recruited and enormously talented! Maybe Malone has some input in his tweeting?
edit= J Pinnix-Odrick
SU’s games aren’t that well attended, and the facilities don’t match up with those at Penn State, or even just about any other school in the ACC. This will continue to happen until the indoor facility is built, and it hopefully comes with a big time weight room. Facilities matter, and Dr. Gross knows it. Unfortunately, attendance in the Dome isn’t going to improve until SU can play a team like Clemson and not get blown off the field. No matter what anyone says, getting destroyed by Florida St., Georgia Tech and Clemson doesn’t help. I suspect it will take SU winning the ACC before these 4 and 5 star kids start coming to SU in droves. That’s what it took for Virginia Tech. Give Shafer time, and hopefully he doesn’t leave in two years for his next “dream job”.
Russ,
Are you talking about the right Slayton?? Chris Slayton live in Illinois and plays @ Crete-Monee HS.
My only argument to recruits that say their looking for playing time is why are you discounting a school where you will immediately play/make an impact? Don’t piss on my boots and tell me its raining. If you like Florida say you rather play there for other reasons, because your not getting immediate playing time, if at all any, since they recruit 4/5* year end and out (i,e: Ishaq and JJ). Clemson just recruited a top 5 QB this year and is being talked about starting next year. I get that these places have a better environment, but if you want to make a name for your self, I would look alittle more into a school who can use you sooner rathen (maybe) later
Thanks Ron – I appreciate the love on the article. Glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate the whole clan that gets together here in the comments sections and posts all the time as well. So cool to read through every day. I might not always chime in, but I always read them.
Funny how these high end resumes don’t mean aching once they get on the field against other Div1 players who don’t read those resumes. We will find “under the radar” players” whose resumes are in progress and they will play just fine for Syracuse University. We will be just fine without a Holley Jolly Christmas.
Russ, Orange Crush has the right Slayton. the guy we brought in is not from Montclair (but Tyree was). The Slayton in last weekend has apparently been very quiet about his recruitment. It is good that we got him in, as he is a big target for us on the D line. Shafer asked the Chicago guys to push on him (or so I can decifer from tweets).
Ed Brooks, there will be no weight room in the IPF. It is just a field, but a valuable one at that. I don’t think our weight room lacks. I think McNabb made a big contribution to that a few years back (which is probably 8-10 now). I think Iaconne is a nice facility. I think there are lots of ACC schools with worse facilities, but I don’t know why I’d want to be compared with them. The University seems to slowly be raising the bar on the facilities. I am hoping ACC money accelerates that. I think the big holes are fan support, and consistent success. I hope with one comes the other. I am not sure I care in what order.
we win with 2-3 star players. we’ll be better next year.
Listen I feel Marrone had the recruiting ball rolling in the right direction. What 3-5 players de-committed that were solid 3* recruits. Another 2-3 years and lets see where recruiting is.
I feel Mcdonald can recruit a top 25 class here at ‘Cuse, but he has to have something to sell recruits (winning season, bowls, other top end recruits, a system the a player can play in, facilities). You hear a lot of recruits who do like the family atmosphere of the team.
And speaking of a winning record, it could start next year with their schedule being pretty winnable for the most part.
sackster/chris programs do not win regularly with 2/low 3 stars.!! Since the end of Coach P to HCSS shows that-over 10/12 years!! Enough already!!! SU has to get better talent into program to improve. Not get hope and prays talent year in and out. Check the top 40 and you’ll see that!! Those programs average 3 or better! The closer you get to the top the more stars show. YES SU will not get a hand full of top 100 every year, but 3 4 stars a year like the SU late 80’s and some of the 90’s won’t hurt-huh!!
Malone you’re right a full dome and winning are the answers to SU improving too!!
I agree with orangecrush that the kids like the light of a top twenty programs. SU has to get out of this doldrums about not getting those 3/4 star players and instead shooting for the hope n pray NR/2 star players types. The past 10/12 years shows that doesn’t work. .500 records from bottom feeders are not attractive to top talent.
Do not forget the kids from PSABUSERU!! THE NCAA did!!!
For every Ishaq, Jones, Easley and Ebenezer – there is a Nassib, Bromley, Mackey, Pugh and Jerome waiting in the wings. I for one would much rather take a few guys that are less ‘stars’ and who want to play for Syracuse Football. Guys who want to be up on the the hill. GO CUSE !
I honestly feel the upstate fans are over anxious for the team to win. I mean they can almost taste the word victory while talking about the future of Syracuse football. When Syracuse starts winning and having 8-4,9-3,10-2 and maybe having 11-1 record’s on a consistant basis is when the fans will return to the dome and support the team.
The starting point is this years Texas Bowl. If we beat Minnesota after beating WVA last year and Kansas St two years ago in the Pinstripe bowl,recruits will take notice and start committing to the Orange. I had a chance to talk with some of the players tonight and all of them seemed upbeat and eager to go to Texas and play against Minnesota. I posted on another thread about the big weekend Syracuse had with bringing in some recruits and listed 4 players who were hear. I was told tonight that 6-8 players were on campus Saturday and Sunday. Let’s hope they all liked what they saw and some of them commit to play here.
@Russell Dangerfield;
3* 6’3″ 258 lb DE Chris Slayton is out of Crete-Monee (ILL). He is one of the 6-8 recruits that was on campue over the weekend.
I apologize if I mislead you in any way.
Your right guys…wrong Slayton but same name?Either one though would be a home run!!I think if he really wanted to go to RU he would have commited already!! He(Montclair,NJ)seems like a primadonna but don’t they all today?I’d love 2 of them though!!
@Ron:
Absolutely right about more fans coming out for ‘Cuse football games when they start winning. No only that but you create new fans as well.
I feel no matter what Dr. Gross does positively for the university, he single handly put SU football in a hole. He is the one that spurned fans away from the program. Now i could be wrong, but i noticed alot of my friends who were huge ‘Cuse fans when they were ranked, just dont watch ‘Cuse football and say they’re a joke. GRob era killed off alot of fans.
Fans will be fickle until Football is at least winning more then losing, and it’s slowly getting there. We have seen the bottom of the barrel, only can go up.
Next year fans need to start getting to the dome to support ‘Cuse football.
Right on Crush. Get to the game and make the house loud again. Kids will be in awe of the support.
I have a theory on the Dr. Gross recruiting angles and it ties to Grob, and to Shafer looking outside the area. I think when Gross got here from Cali, he thought he was coming to NYC. I think he hatched a plan to play the same game on recruits and he hired a Texas coach assuming he would recruit Texas and they would all think the same. We know what a mistake that was. I think Marrone was meant to counter that, but to a large degree Marrone learned that you just can’t fool a NYC kid that Syracuse is in NYC, and the bigger fish there are wooed by bigger lights (they are from NYC after all). I think this is where Shafer can be successful. He is not selling the location, he is selling the mindset of the program. I hope soon that he can sell the system too, but I don’t see the offensive system yet. If the fans can embrace that mindset (and as SS says, Syracuse is a blue collar city that understands hard work and hardnosed football) and support it, I think we will see the shift and get the kids we want in our program.
Fan support is EVERYTHING. These kids understand that the most important thing in the sports/entertainment industry is to be seen.
Russ, I think we have a legit shot at 50% of those recruits. I am just basing this on Twitter feedback. I have said for a while that Hudson is a real possibility. Some of the WF guys seemed impressed (beating them must have helped some). Getting Sykes in was big, but we have to ride out a visit to ND. He is a Chicago area kid, so they are “local”. We have a shot. I think Slayton’s visit went well. Lots of LBs and DBs. The lack of O and O-line in particular still concerns me. I know Roberts is working a LT and current Purdue commit, Denzel Ward hard.
I’m concerned about Hudsons height. If he is 5’9″ and the move is to taller WR’s he’s not a great get. Yes there are smaller DB out there that are good but the trend of today not YESTERDAY is taller WR and that makes sense. Throw it higher to a 6’2″-6″4″ WR a 5’9 guy has no chance!!
You homers who still feel 2 star talent will get SU to the happy hunting ground of a near smell at a NC are crazy!! It WILL NOT WORK. Yes I do not expect SU to be Alabama or Auburn or FSU like, but maybe again every 6/7 years that smell returns for SU. And decent talent does that not hope and pray talent!! Quit the homer feelings of SU winning with lesser talent. History shows SU can not deal with that and win too!!
@OrangeCrush27;
I blame Nancy Cantor just as much as I blame Dr.Gross for the down turn in the football program. GROB was/is a joke. What took years of hard work to build/establish,he ruined in one season,the relationships with the northeastern high school football coaches.
It’s going to take time for Coach Shafer to build that up again and make Syracuse the power house it once was. The two things that I see now that is helping build the program is Shafer already going after top recruits for 2015. The second thing I see that will have lasting effects on the program is the amount of people bringing their children to the games at the dome,turning them into future members of the Orangenation supporting the Syracuse Football program.
Coach Shafer is doing things the right way in rebuilding the program and returning it to respectablity. It’s going to happen people,we just need to be a little patient a little longer and good things will start happening with the program. Winning the Texas Bowl against Minnesota is going to jump start the process.
Ron we need REAL results instead of smoke and mirros. I like HCSS, but he has to get those players in at SU. Instead of like this spring/summer and going after top talent and really only getting(so far) one 4 star verbaled!!
@OrangeCrush27;
“Clemson just recruited a top 5 QB this year and is being talked about starting next year”. Crush27 if that statement is true,what must Chad Kelly be thinking about now of becoming the top dog at clemson? do you think he’s second guessing his decision about Clemson? If that 5* QB does start next season,look for Kelly to transfer.
@Ron
Well yeah its a possibility. But are these kids going to big schools for the lime-light? Or they going because they feel they can play? Your top tier D1 Schools are always going to bring in top recruiting. ‘Cuse isn’t at this time and point, so why not choose a school that you may play at for 3-4 years??? I mean Chad Kelly isn’t going to Clemson for the academics, Especially not compared to ‘Cuse.
EO picked Clemson over ‘Cuse because they have a better defense??? C’mon Marrone/Shafers defense ranked higher then Clemson’s D, since they have been here.
I think Holley would play more at PSU more then Florida.
But again these are 17/18 year olds making decisions based on what’s better for them, not for a fan base. Obviously you wish them well, but know that they have a higher chance of playing time and repping NY, if they came here.
@Russell Dangerfield;
As we have discussed earlier in the year the possibilty of Mac Brown getting released as Head Coach of Texas looks like he will tender his resignation on Friday and step down as the head coach at the football awards dinner.
I was high on Thomas, especially after the summer trip, and felt we had a decent shot to land him. He hasn’t signed yet, and neither program he has come down to are on solid coaching grounds, albeit for different reasons (Muschamp on thin ice and O’Brien to NFL?), but the writing is on the wall. Wish him well but the heck with him and any other New Yorker IMO who doesn’t want to stay here. Go after top talent outside of NY and we will be fine without them. In years to come, top NY talent may find it hard getting an offer. After all, as you point out, NY Talent is shinning elsewhere for the most part anyway. I for one am extreamly optimistic this program is on the way back, just going through some growing pains. And, as for the dome attendance, stop playing in the Meadowlands. Its a failed experiment and is not helping recruiting nor attendance when your best non-conf games that should be at home are really becoming road games instead. The program also has to learn to play a warm up game to come out of the gate, then come back with a nice home game in early september with a good foe.
D.A,
Those are not accurate stats on Ishaq. He had 19 solo tackles and 22 assisted with 1 sack in the michigan game. No clue where you got 3 but that’s not accurate at all. Jones has had problems on and off the field but he started for Louis Nix the last two games of the season. Playing out of position bc of all the players hurt in the front 7 he had 7 tackles and a blocked FG. In the following game vs Stanford he had about the same amount of tackles. Fosure looks like it’s starting to click for jones on the field. Hopefully he stays out of trouble during the offseason bc he will be a impact player next season.
Look not trying to say that they they been world beaters but the picture you’re trying to paint here is not an accurate one.
Oh Van… The Meadowlands game is very impactful and is absolutley the only way we can schedule games like USC or ND. Those warm up games you mention? Well most teams with an upper hand want those games at home. Why would PSU, USC, or ND play us early in the season? We’re their warm up game. Why would they go on the road to do it? because its in the NYC metro area, an NFL stadium, site of the Super Bowl and because it’s not in Syracuse.
We just lost a NJ kid to freaking Boston College. Man I am really getting this G-Rob feeling with Kyle Flood. Your right RU is all smoke and mirrors and Greg ain’t here to sell this program. No recruit respects a lame duck coach. We RU fans found out that the donors wanted to try and poach Al Golden, or James Franklin from their jobs. Passing on guys like Pat Narduzzi and Bob Diaco. UConn is more committed at winning than we are. We will become Indiana in the B1G with this leadership. Aw F it, Go Cuse and this coming from a “die hard knight”!