A national audience will be watching when Syracuse takes on Notre Dame on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium. And Dontae Strickland, the highest rated player in Syracuse’s incoming freshman class, will be watching as well.
Syracuse’s journey to New Jersey won’t only be a business trip, but a recruiting one, too. Strickland, a South Brunswick, N.J. native, will be at the game along with several other players Syracuse is targeting.
“It’s a recruiting opportunity in an area where we definitely want to continue to upgrade – in New Jersey and in New York City,” Scott Shafer said.
For the third straight season, Syracuse plays one of its biggest home games away from the Carrier Dome. Syracuse lost to USC in 2012 and Penn State in 2013 in MetLife Stadium. Some argue that neutral-site games prevent the local fan base from seeing Syracuse’s high-profile opponents in person. The SU Athletic Department has said that, instead, it allows the Orange to schedule teams who would not agree to come to the Carrier Dome and gives the program more national recognition.
It also gives high school players like Strickland a convenient chance to watch his future team. Shafer said this week that it’s important to have a bigger presence in the region. Syracuse hasn’t recruited very heavily in the New Jersey area in the past few years. With SU’s downfall during the mid-2000s and Rutgers’ resurgence during that period, the Orange lost some of its connection to the New York City-area.
That’s why Shafer brought on Bobby Acosta this offseason. Acosta, the team’s tight ends coach, was born in Queens, but moved to New Jersey at a young age. This year, Syracuse has two New Jersey recruits – Strickland and Daivon Ellison – after only getting two from the state over the past three years.
“When coaches look at you, they want to give their kid to someone who cares and someone who’s going to take their child or their player to the next level,” Acosta said. “I think the relationship part of it is why people are more interested in (Syracuse).”
He developed some of those relationships during stops at Rowan University, Marlboro High School, TCNJ and Monmouth Regional High School.
“When you walk into a building and they can call you by your first name, that means a lot,” he said. “When you walk into a high school wearing Syracuse, you open up people’s eyes.”
Acosta said he’s looking forward to seeing a large group of family and friends on Saturday. But how many more fans will be at the game is another question. MetLife’s capacity is 82,566, but only 39,507 showed up when the Orange lost to the Trojans. Attendance improved significantly last year, when Syracuse and Penn State drew 61,202 fans.
“That was one of the goals of playing those games was to get that brand in the spotlight, to get everyone talking about Syracuse football again,” SU athletic director Daryl Gross told ESPN CNY this week. “Not only can you have a good show but you've got the big-time announcers and all of it. I can't remember the last time we had that opportunity.”
Syracuse has the spotlight. Now the question: can Shafer and the Orange prove to Strickland and everyone else watching that they deserve it?