It’s Signing Day, which means many high school football players – most of whom made their decision on where to attend college months ago – will formally ink their signature on a letter of intent.

Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson will reveal his first recruiting class with a full year on the job today at 4 p.m. in a news conference at the Iocolano-Petty Football Complex. He had a little over a month on the job before Signing Day approached last season and landed local recruits Lavar Lobdell and Bruce Williams. But this season, Robinson and his staff recruited everyone.

The product is expected to be a solid class that addresses many critical needs. From all reported commitments, the class is headlined by running back Delone Carter from Copley, Ohio, and Andrey Baskin from Camden, N.J. It also features quarterback Andrew Robinson from Baltimore. Considering SU’s offense was rated 115th in scoring – the third worst in college football – the offensive triumvirate is a recruiting boon for Robinson.

The class is deep – there are 20 reported commitments according to Scout.com – and is heavy on offensive linemen.

‘I think he’s done a great job targeting the guys they wanted,’ said Miller Safrit, Scout.com regional recruiting analyst for the East. ‘They got a lot of great players they wanted. There are guys who will play very early and guys with a lot potential, a high-ceiling who could really develop.’

Safrit said Robinson seemed more aggressive than former head coach Paul Pasqualoni, specifically in receiving commitments early in the process. Carter – whom Safrit identified as the gem of the class – committed to the Orange in August.

Dan Boarman, Carter’s head coach at Copley High School, credited linebackers coach Steve Russ for Carter’s commitment. Boarman said he can’t think of anyone who’s recruited better than Russ and said the second-year coach came off more as a person than a salesman.

‘It was his honesty and his sincerity,’ Boarman said. ‘He didn’t mince words. He told Delone the way it was and it way it will be. He knew all the important things. With Delone, it’s not just football but character. He’s much more of an adult than a lot of adults. Those are the things that appealed him.’

Boarman said Carter never wavered during or after the Orange’s 1-10 season and felt strongly about the commitment. There’s been a recent trend among high school athletes to commit to a school and then de-commit. There was another Big Ten school, which Boarman preferred to keep confidential, that wanted Carter to visit, but the running back was firm with his pledge.

While SU did a formidable job with Carter, it couldn’t secure a commitment from running back Kevin Collier from Churchville, N.Y., who the Orange reportedly actively pursued. Collier instead held firm to his commitment to Big East-rival Pittsburgh.

The Orange also recently lost out on tight end Rashad Phillips from Landstown, Va. Phillips committed to North Carolina State on Monday.

Coincidentally, Phillips was recruited to N.C. State by former Syracuse defensive coordinator Steve Dunlap and Collier was recruited to Pitt by former SU running back coach and running back David Walker.

But that’s the nature of recruiting. There’s no science to it. Baskin told The Daily Orange in September that he was leaning elsewhere, but the Orange apparently pulled the right strings. With Collier and Phillips, it couldn’t.

‘I thought they had a good shot at landing Collier, and he’ll end up being a good back for Pitt,’ Safrit said. ‘Overall, Syracuse did a good job of finding guys early on and finding the right guys.’

Published on January 31, 2006 at 12:00 pm