Andrejas Duerig’s dream school was not Syracuse. He didn’t see himself playing for the Orange in “a million years.”

But when his National Collegiate Scouting Association recruiting profile matched him up with a bunch of potential schools, Syracuse was the only one that came back as a 100-percent match. Soon after that, SU offered him a spot in the Class of 2015. 

“I was like, there’s got to be something that God’s telling us here,” Duerig said, “that this is the school I need to go to.” 

Duerig committed to Syracuse on June 17 while he was on campus during his official visit. A versatile offensive guard that is transferring to Mount Carmel (Ill.) High School for his senior season, Duerig can also play tight end, as well as other positions on the offensive line. 

But one of the primary things that drew him to the Orange, though, was the possibility of starting at center right away. 

“I like making a mark,” Duerig said. “Where I can make a mark most is where I play. And if I can come into a program and give my heart and do my best and start for four years…I think that’d be fantastic.” 

His versatility will likely land him more offers from big-time programs in the coming weeks and months, but Duerig insists that he remains steadfast in his decision to play for Syracuse. 

He’s changed his cellphone number, and he’s having his mom monitor his Twitter and Facebook accounts to shoo off other college coaches. 

“When he sees something and he wants it, he just does it,” said Shane Tucker, Duerig’s former coach. “That’s him. He doesn’t want to mess around.” 

Duerig knows that he can have a chance to have an immediate effect on the Syracuse offense in a multitude of ways. In middle school, he was forced to learn how to play many different positions, many of which he still plays in high school. 

Now he’s a 6-foot-4, 272-pound rising senior, but it was in those formative years that Duerig developed a feel for the game. 

Tucker said that from the moment Duerig started playing football he was a “mountain man”— and a strong lineman unlike some of the other, “softer” players on his seventh-grade team.

Tucker, whose son also plays for Mount Carmel, now serves as a mentor figure to Duerig and said the lineman will leave a positive mark on the Syracuse program. 

But before he gets to SU, he still has one high school season to play. This summer, he’s been working out with MC assistant coach Joe Kubik as he prepares to play his first season with a top-flight high school football program. 

Immediately, Kubik said, he understood why Duerig has become such a highly recruited player. 

“He’s been a great worker,” Kubik said. “He’s been a great leader. He’s been a great team-first guy. We expect great things out of him.” 

Mount Carmel is Duerig’s focus right now, but it’s just a stop for him. Syracuse is the long-term future for Duerig, and one he admittedly didn’t believe in for quite a while. 

But once he visited Syracuse, and came to understand what he could potentially mean to the program, it was no longer an unknown decision. 

It was an obvious one. 

“When I did take that visit,” Duerig said. “…It just all built together to make the easy decision. It’s kind of funny how things work out.” 

Published on July 17, 2014 at 12:08 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3