Two weeks ago, Keondrick Lyn was ready for DeKalb, Ill. Lyn, a cornerback from Miramar, Fla., had surprised friends and family in Miami by committing to Northern Illinois over an offer from Big East power South Florida.

After concluding his senior season, a season where he captained Miramar High School to a Florida state championship, Lyn remained steadfast with his decision. He would be a Husky in 2010. It was as simple as that.

But two weeks ago, Lyn conceded for one afternoon. Inside his Miramar home, Lyn met with Doug Marrone and Scott Shafer. The Syracuse head coach, the defensive coordinator and the high school kid met in one room. Just the three of them. No high school coaches. No mentors. Not even family.

‘(Marrone and Shafer) flew down after the season,’ Lyn said. ‘They didn’t want to bother me while I had playoffs and all that. (Marrone) just wanted to stop by and say ‘what’s up’ to me. I met him at my house, by myself.’

One week later, 1,408 miles removed from that humid, stuffy room in Miramar, Lyn committed to play for Marrone and Shafer inside the Carrier Dome during SU’s basketball game against Marquette.

The corner is one of a staggering 31 signees for the Orange’s 2010 recruiting class. Of the 31, 24 faxed in their letters of intent Wednesday as seven are already enrolled at SU. The letters came from states all over the country, spanning California, Colorado, Texas, Florida and in between.

The hectic change in plans for Lyn epitomizes Marrone’s first full class at Syracuse. Marrone and recruiting coordinator Greg Adkins re-established a national foundation for Syracuse football recruiting with the 2010 class. And a little over a week before National Signing Day, Marrone and his staff picked up another out-of-region recruit in Lyn.

‘Our philosophy is simple, OK, we look at a 250-mile radius,’ Marrone said. ‘So if everybody got a map out and looked at a 250 miles around the university, that is our nucleus of what we are trying to do in recruiting. We will go out to anywhere we have to go if there is an interest academically in what we have to offer, which we have quite a bit to offer. And that’s what takes us out into areas like California, areas like Texas.’

The class is headlined by 10 three-star recruits – according to Scout.com – including Lyn.

Matt Alkire, Scout.com’s East Coast recruiting analyst, is impressed with the class. Despite the fact that SU’s class lacks any four- or five-star recruits, Alkire believes Marrone and company did a standout job, primarily because they addressed SU’s needs across the board.

‘People can’t look too far into the star ratings,’ Alkire said. ‘You need that foundation to get elite kids. There is a certain level where you have to put some things in perspective frankly. This year’s class was way beyond last year’s class. It’s not relatively close.’

Marrone shored up areas of need by signing six linebackers and five wide receivers. Again, the receivers and linebackers came from all over the country, as the Orange signed linebackers Lewellyn Coker and Brice Hawkes from Ohio and Florida, respectively, while reeling in Adrian Flemming, a 6-foot-4 receiver, from Virginia. SU also inked four linemen on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

The flash of the class, though, comes at the quarterback position. Marrone and company took a national approach to signing future signal callers as well. Jonny Miller of Denver and John Kinder of Cedarhurst, N.Y., who are both regarded as three-star recruits by various recruiting services, will don Orange in 2010. Both are expected to give the starting quarterback job a run after former starter Greg Paulus’ departure.

‘Well I think whenever you talk about quarterbacks, first thing to talk about is accuracy,’ Marrone said. ‘Both quarterbacks are very accurate in what they do. Both quarterbacks have the skill to move in the pocket, be able to move and have some athleticism. That’s what we are looking for in our quarterbacks, the ability to throw and make decisions, be leaders.’

But the ultimate effect this class will have on the future of Syracuse football most likely won’t be felt in this spring and summer’s battle at quarterback, or with any incoming players for that matter. Rather, the eventual ripples of Marrone’s 2010 effort will be felt in coming classes. Classes that will likely have even more players from across the United States.

All thanks to this group of 31.

Said Alkire: ‘When a coach from Syracuse beats out a school like South Florida for a kid from Miramar, that says a lot. It is a very clear direction they are going in.’

Syracuse-Rutgers recruiting rivalry continues to boil with 2010 class

Greg Schiano spoke with Syracuse signee Dyshawn Davis a few times. In the fall of 2009, the head coach of Rutgers tripped down to Woodbury, N.J., outside of Philadelphia, to watch Davis’ teammate, former Rutgers commit Shawney Kersey.

Through Kersey, Rutgers’ pursuit of Davis heated up. The wide receiver started to receive letters from the Scarlet Knights. Some even from Schiano himself.

But a funny thing happened around this time last year. Kersey de-committed from Rutgers, switching his allegiance to Penn State. And with his teammate’s de-commitment, Rutgers’ pursuit of Davis waned off.

A few months later, former Syracuse assistant coach Derrick Jackson started to seriously recruit Davis, and SU ultimately secured a verbal commitment from the wideout.

Davis’ recruitment is just one of a number of recruitments of players between the two schools.

‘The way that (Syracuse) just brought themselves to me, that was the big thing,’ Davis said. ‘It was a big shock to me. I was getting about five letters a week from Rutgers. It was only right for me to come help (Syracuse) out. Their coaches built that strong bond.’

More so now than ever, the rivalry between the two schools for recruiting prominence in the tri-state area has reached a boiling point. Schiano and Marrone are continuously stepping on each other’s toes when jockeying for recruits in the Northeast.

This year both had similar classes as Rutgers’ was ultimately rated No. 48 by Scout.com. Syracuse’s was rated No. 55.

But Scout.com recruiting analyst Matt Alkire likes SU’s class as much as Schiano’s. It’s an achievement he is impressed with considering the fact that Syracuse had far less time to build relationships with players both schools were looking at. And moving forward in future years, Alkire anticipates many battles similar to the ones from this year — mostly because Marrone and Schiano recruit so similarly.

‘I think (Syracuse’s class) will be right on par with Rutgers’ class, frankly,’ Alkire said. ‘Rutgers’ class this year isn’t overly impressive, and they have had a while to establish themselves. I don’t think it is any better than SU’s class. Schiano and Marrone do it very similarly, but Marrone is not as flashy.’

The recruiting tension between the two programs can even be felt in Florida — by a player that wasn’t even recruited by the Scarlet Knights.

The same day Syracuse signee Keondrick Lyn switched his commitment from Northern Illinois to SU, he was caught off guard by some tweets on his Twitter account. The tweets were messages from Rutgers fans trash talking Lyn and SU.

‘They were following me on Twitter and writing to me talking about Syracuse was bad and stuff,’ Lyn said. ‘They were saying stuff like, ‘We are going to whoop y’all when we play.”

Lyn didn’t take the messages personally, though. The tweets are just making Lyn more anxious to face the Scarlet Knights. He has a new team to hate, even if he was far removed from the SU-Rutgers 2010 recruiting battles.

Said Lyn: ‘It’s making me a little mad, though. It’s making me want to play (Rutgers) right away.’

aolivero@syr.edu

Published on February 3, 2010 at 12:00 pm