Oak Ridge High School defensive back Cycoby Burch says he’s 100 percent ready now. In May, he wasn’t.

About three months ago, Burch briefly committed to Wisconsin before reports surfaced that the Badgers’ coaching staff wouldn’t accept his commitment. Since the agreement fell through, he’s used the extra time before his senior season at Oak Ridge in Florida.

“I felt like I just made it too soon,” Burch said. “I wasn’t really ready to make my decision.”

Burch, who will announce his verbal commitment on Friday, has named a top four that includes Syracuse, West Virginia, Indiana and South Florida. He said he is prioritizing academics and his relationship with the coaching staff. Burch is ranked with three stars and as the 90th-best cornerback in the 2016 class by Scout.com.

The 6-foot-1, 190 pound Burch is being recruited for the CB position by Orange tight ends coach Jake Moreland, but Burch said if he gets bigger, he might move to safety.

Though Burch hasn’t visited SU, he said they were in touch on and off from the spring until the past month, when they’ve been in contact regularly. Burch said he’d “probably” visit Syracuse at some point this fall regardless of his decision. He’s taken an unofficial visit to USF, the only school in his top four that he’s visited.

“I’m looking for also a family environment,” Burch said. “A team that’s going to take me in and get me ready to play, be mentored by the older guys and a team that will make me a better student-athlete.”

The Orange’s 2016 class already includes defensive backs Monquavion Brinson and Scoop Bradshaw, both from Florida, and Darius Stubbs and Will Harper, both from Georgia.

“I’ve always enjoyed coaching kids from down that way,” SU head coach Scott Shafer said of his players from Florida on Aug. 8, “especially a lot of secondary players for whatever reason.”

Syracuse’s current roster includes six cornerbacks, three from Florida (Julian Whigham, Juwan Dowels and Cordell Hudson), and eight safeties, three from either Florida or Georgia (Antwan Cordy from Florida and Christopher Fredrick and Kielan Whitner from Georgia).

Nearly a month ago, Osceola (Florida) High School safety Devon Clarke tweeted that he committed to the Orange, but a day later his tweets indicated that his commitment was not accepted by the SU coaching staff. According to Syracuse.com, the Orange coaches wanted Clarke to visit the campus before committing.

Published on August 24, 2015 at 12:06 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds