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Fran Brown’s Syracuse might be a developmental program at its core, but the Orange are recruiting at a record-setting pace early in the new head coach’s tenure.
Hours before Kyle McCord officially committed to Syracuse, the Ohio State transfer quarterback spoke with 247Sports about his visit. The first thing McCord emphasized when asked about his visit was his relationship with new Orange head coach Fran Brown.
“I like Fran a lot and have known him awhile,” McCord said. “The comfort level is definitely there.”
Expect that to be a common sentiment for recruits when discussing Syracuse and Brown, who has the Orange off to a scorching recruiting start a few weeks into his tenure. Brown currently ranks as the No. 1 recruiter in college football in the 2024 cycle for what he did at Georgia as the program’s defensive backs coach. He’s quickly provided a similar jolt for Syracuse.
After just 24 days with Brown as their head coach, the Orange sit at 45th overall in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings. Syracuse has the No. 15 transfer class and ranks 34th in the overall rankings, which combines high school and transfer recruits.
Since 247Sports’ 2010 origin, Syracuse hasn’t had a top-50 high school class. It’s had just one other top-50 class (2007) in the modern internet recruiting era.
“With Fran Brown and some of the people he hired, they’re going to bring some electricity to the coaching trail with their personalities and their swagger and the relationships they have and the confidence they have,” said 247Sports director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong.
Eighteen players signed as part of Syracuse’s 2024 high school class. Six of the top seven ranked players committed to Brown and his staff over the last 24 days. That group includes players who were flipped from notable programs like Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic athlete Emanuel Ross (Stanford), Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph Regional running back Yasin Willis (Pittsburgh) and Atco (N.J.) Winslow Township wide receiver Jaylan Hornsby (Texas A&M).
Syracuse didn’t win (or really even compete) in those battles before Brown’s arrival. That’s because of Brown and the staff that he put in place.
Brown is on pace to be the 2024 National Recruiter of the Year. His defensive coordinator, Elijah Robinson, was 247Sports’ top recruiter from the 2022 cycle. Defensive ends coach Nick Williams, who spent last year at Colorado, is someone described by Wiltfong as one of the best off-field recruiters ever.
That’s a staff with teeth, and it’s not even fully put together yet.
Those relationships pay dividends in the transfer portal, too. McCord, who went 11-1 as Ohio State’s 2023 starter, is arguably the most notable recruit in Syracuse history. He’s a one-year building block who can help Syracuse be relevant quickly.
The Orange took transfers from Georgia (Zeed Haynes, Jackson Meeks), Texas A&M (Fadil Diggs) and beat out programs like Florida for Buffalo all-conference safety Devin Grant
“They’re magnetic,” Wiltfong said. “There’s no doubt about that. I think that’s a staff you’ll see make hay in the portal every year because of that.”
Brown is taking advantage of a first-year jolt that all coaches get on the recruiting trail. He gets to sell hope. But the long-term quandary for Syracuse is if it can maintain this pace.
Syracuse isn’t an easy place to win. The Orange have just two 10-win seasons over the last 30 years — Dino Babers won 10 in 2018 — and haven’t won an outright conference crown since 1998.
There’s really no natural recruiting footprint for Syracuse within 100 miles. The Orange travel into New Jersey, the DMV and Philadelphia to reach true Northeast football hotbeds. That lack of homegrown talent will require Brown and his staff to identify hidden gems and develop.
Brown is a first-time head coach, so there’s no track record of his success as a program leader in that area, among many others; Brown has never been a head coach and his coordinators have never called plays. But it’s worth noting that Brown’s career experience is mostly at non-traditional powers.
Brown began his career in 2012 at Temple under Matt Rhule, helping Rhule establish a rare winner in Philadelphia through 2016. Then Brown went with Rhule to Baylor as associate head coach from 2017-18, where that staff inherited one of the most difficult situations in college football and quickly turned the Bears into a Big 12 contender. Baylor did recruit some blue-chip players — Brown had a ton do with that — but that Bears staff won because of their developmental ability and a unique recruiting approach that targeted athletic traits above all else.
That’s the mindset Wiltfong expects Brown to take with Syracuse. Yes, the Orange will see a jump in recruiting attention. The staff was hired with an eye toward recruiting. But Brown’s resume is full of programs with major developmental wins, which is what’s truly needed to find success at Syracuse.
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“He’s going to take some swings at guys that are high profile,” Wiltfong said, “but he’s a guy, at his core, who is a developmental coach.”
Boston College coach Jeff Hafley left his post to become the Green Pay Packers’ next defensive coordinator, spiking college football’s coaching carousel once again. Hafley showed progress at Boston College to finish up his fourth season after beating SMU as the Fenway Bowl underdog.
Boston College’s initial list of coaching candidates is widespread and the Eagles are in a bit of a time crunch with spring practice set to begin a few weeks from now. As with all head-coaching changes, current players are eligible to enter the transfer portal and have 30 days to do so. The faster Boston College makes a hire, the less likely a roster exodus will occur.
It’s certainly not the easiest job in the ACC, but winning can happen. The last coach to take the Eagles to the conference championship game was Jeff Jagodzinski in 2008.
One of the Group of Five’s most consistent programs over the past few years, Toledo is a perennial bowl team and Mid-American Conference contender under Jason Candle. Previously this coaching cycle, Candle’s name was brought up for several Power Five openings, including this nugget from Steve Wiltfong about being a potential fit at Michigan State prior to the Spartans selecting Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith.
“Candle-led football teams typically boast some of the best offenses in college football, ranking No. 9 in rushing offense and No. 13 in pass efficiency this fall, and they’re a strong defense particularly against the pass,” Wiltfong wrote. “… Candle has spearheaded recruiting efforts that have seen Toledo have success in the Detroit area, Ohio and Florida, three places where Michigan State will have to do well to get back on track in the Big Ten. The Rockets currently have the No. 2 recruiting class in the MAC.”
Would the former Georgia offensive coordinator who finished one victory shy of a Super Bowl appearance want to return to the college ranks and lead Boston College? The job would certainly be more time-consuming and difficult from a recruiting perspective. After all, those are reasons many college coaches — including Hafley reportedly — are looking at the pro ranks for opportunities. Todd Monken was one of the SEC’s most-respected coordinators during his time with Kirby Smart and is certainly head coach material. He would inject some momentum into the Eagles with his proven offensive philosophy.
Jeff Monken surfaced in many Power Five searches in recent years, including fellow ACC program Georgia Tech, which shows the level of respect he garners nationally thanks to the success (70-55) he’s had at Army. After losing seasons in 2014 and 2015 to begin his tenure, Monken has only suffered one losing season since and holds four bowl wins. The Black Knights finished ranked in 2018 after an 11-win campaign. His style of play isn’t sexy and it might be a hard sell for the boosters in Chestnut Hill who could prefer a modernized attack.
One of Dabo Swinney’s longest-tenured assistants who hits the 12-year mark in 2024, Mike Reed could view the Boston College vacancy as the opportunity to finally jump from the Tigers after a successful career in Death Valley. After all, Reed is a program alumnus after starring for the Eagles over a four-year stint in the early 1990s. He obviously knows ACC football and what it takes to help build a program given his track record of success under Swinney’s wing and is one of the Tigers’ strongest recruiters.
Mark Stoops was worried he would lose Liam Coen to a position in the NFL, but retained his top assistant — for now. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers scheduled an interview for their open OC vacancy. Voted as one of college football’s top offensive coordinators, Coen was instrumental in helping to develop former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis and assisted with NC State transfer Devin Leary last season. The UMass alumnus has never been a head coach, but it’s only a matter of time before he makes that jump.
Is Al Golden itching to lead a college football program again or is he happy in a coordinator role with the Fighting Irish? After a successful multi-year tenure at Temple as a first-time head coach in the mid 2000s, Miami hired Golden where he went 32-25 over five seasons, including three above .500 finishes. Boston College is the more difficult job in terms of recruiting success, but he is from New Jersey and scouted the Northeast throughout his coaching career.
A native of New York who played collegiately at Iona, Kyle Flood was the head coach at Rutgers from 2012-15 before spending the last eight years on staff for the Atlanta Falcons, Alabama and Texas in offensive line or play-calling roles. Boston College would love to hire a guy who’s tenacious at the point of attack and Flood would certainly provide that given his track record. The former Big East Coach of the Year knows the recruiting territory, too.
Texas has already seen one of its top assistants depart for another elite this offseason. Defensive line coach Bo Davis, instrumental in helping energize the Longhorns’ revitalized pass rush, went back to his alma-mater (LSU) in January. Flood helped improve this Texas offense over the last three seasons and is a reason why Quinn Ewers has first-round pick written all over him in 2025.
