As the seconds ticked away, the final agonizing seconds of Syracuse’s embarrassing 31-9 loss to Rutgers on Oct. 15, the phone rang at Derek Hrinya’s house. The vultures were swarming. Other schools were pouncing on one of the ugliest defeats in Orange history, trying to convince recruits like Hrinya to renege on their verbal commitments to Syracuse.

‘Other schools are trying to take advantage of Syracuse’s losing streak,’ said Hrinya, a 6-foot, 200-pound running back and safety from Warwick, a suburb of New York City.

After a 1-10 season, arguably the worst in school history, coach Greg Robinson and the new offensive system under Brian Pariani must start back at the drawing board. Again. The 10 losses are the most ever for a Syracuse team in its 110-year history, but the good news for the Orange is that record of futility has had seemingly no effect on the early verbal recruits SU scored before and during the season.

It is this mentality that many of the current verbal commitments are bringing to Syracuse. While outside observers think the culture of losing would bring a negative effect, it is much the opposite. Fortunately for Syracuse, the majority of the recruits understand what went wrong with the Orange’s 2005 season: It was a year in transition.

‘Coach (Greg) Robinson came in pretty late, those are not his guys, it takes time, we all understand that,’ said J.C. Pinkney, head coach of Frederick Douglass High School (Md.), where Syracuse recruit Matt Reid played cornerback. ‘They’ve definitely been recruiting the right guys, it just takes time.’

With a class ranked 35 nationally by rivals.com, some Syracuse recruits may have an immediate effect next season. Most notable are quarterback Andrew Robinson and running back Delone Carter, both of whom have stayed true Orange despite Syracuse’s constant struggles.

Carter, a tailback from Copley High School in Ohio, amassed 2,788 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns, leading his school to a regional semifinal in the Ohio state playoffs. Carter has been compared to Northwestern freshman standout Tyrell Sutton, who Carter backed up as a freshman and sophomore in high school in Akron, Ohio, before transferring to Copley.

Carter has stated the potential of starting in his freshman year and the graciousness of the Syracuse coaching staff were the main contributors to his early commitment.

Robinson, a quarterback from Maryland’s Calvert Hall College High School, will bring experience that Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson so desires, coming from a West Coast-like system.

‘Andrew just turned 17 years old, and he has only been a quarterback for three years; there is tremendous upside in him,’ said Calvert Hall coach Jay Robinson (no relation). ‘His greatest skills are his communication skills, his command and presence in the huddle.’

Robinson passed for 2,565 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 609 yards and five scores in his senior year at Calvert. He had offers from Wisconsin, Duke and a few unnamed MAC schools. Boston College also showed some interest, but Robinson chose Syracuse.

‘I definitely like the relationships I have developed with the coaching staff,’ Andrew Robinson said. ‘They want to win, and I can sense a winning atmosphere in place.’

Along with phone calls from White, Andrew Robinson received two visits from quarterbacks coach Major Applewhite, one for a game even after Robinson declared his verbal commitment.

‘Major has been a real big impact,’ he said. ‘I wanted to have a coach that I could relate to, that could provide me with some guidance with dealing with the media and he comes from a winning background too.’

Syracuse is already getting returns on its investment in Robinson. The quarterback called Nico Scott, also a Maryland resident and at the time a potential recruit as an athlete, to chat about the program.

‘I talked to him a few times a couple months ago,’ Robinson said. ‘He is really excited about the direction of the program, which is pretty much what I hear from everyone else. They really like the style of the coaching staff.’

Scott recently announced his verbal commitment to Syracuse on Nov. 13 after weighing offers from Boston College, Oregon State, Rutgers and Cincinnati.

Jay Robinson said he never questioned Andrew’s commitment to Syracuse.

‘Andrew never reconsidered,’ Jay Robinson said. ‘It takes courage to go to a school that is down. He wants the challenge and is ready for it.’

Syracuse netted nine of its current 13 recruits before the 2005 football campaign began. While the focus normally shifts to obtaining new talent that still has yet to declare college intentions, the on-field performance of the Syracuse football team has necessitated a persistent concentration on the early verbal commitments in order to ensure they remain loyal to the program.

The biggest threat of departure may come from Ohio, however, where Carter has reportedly been contacted by two Big Ten schools: Ohio State and Minnesota.

Carter’s coach, Dan Boarman, did not return calls for this story.

To combat the inevitable wooing from other schools, Syracuse has maintained contact with many of its early verbals. NCAA rules make it difficult to sustain a close relationship, but it appears the recruiting staff has done as much as possible.

‘When (the Paul Pasqualoni firing) first happened, I was a little hesitant,’ said Adam Rosner, an offensive lineman from Milford Academy in New Berlin. ‘I wasn’t sure what would happen to my scholarship, but they brought me up to talk to the new coaches. They made me feel right at home.’

Rosner visited Syracuse during the 27-24 loss to Virginia in September and has kept in contact with White via telephone and e-mail.

The obstacle that remains for Syracuse is to replicate the success they encountered during the season in maintaining interest in the program.

Jim McKenzie, an offensive lineman from St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, realizes the dire straights Syracuse currently faces may not look appealing to potential recruits, but he has advice for them.

‘With a lot of athletes on the bubble, they’re going to look at the records of course, but usually you should not worry so much about the record now, but more so about where you’ll fit in within the team,’ McKenzie said. ‘To be honest, I like the record right now because there are a few holes in there that I can fill.’

Perhaps a lasting impression Robinson has endowed on his recruits is his experience as an NFL coach. He broke out the 1998 Super Bowl ring during his introductory press conference in January and is not shy about displaying it to recruits.

‘You see him with that huge Super Bowl ring on his hand and it’s awesome,’ McKenzie said. ‘He knows how to build a winner.’

‘I’m trying to get to the NFL and he knows what it takes; that has a big impact on me,’ said Mike Williams, a wide receiver from Buffalo’s Riverside High School.

Williams was Robinson’s first verbal commitment in June and was the first step in Robinson’s goal to keep the best players in New York in the state. As more and more talent emerges from New York, Syracuse has not aptly dealt with other big name programs encroaching on traditional Syracuse recruiting territory.

Currently, the Orange has five recruits that are New York state residents. Hrinya said he agrees Syracuse should target local prospects first.

‘I committed early basically because of the history of Syracuse,’ Hrinya said. ‘I grew up in New York and Syracuse is the main college football team in New York. To be a part of the same program that (Donovan) McNabb and (Donovin) Darius went through is great.’

Tony Truilizio, Mike Williams’ coach at Riverside in Buffalo was impressed with the aggressiveness of Syracuse’s recruiting team in retaining local prospects, even if it meant going to an area where football talent is not usually heavily scouted.

‘It was a bold move to come out to Western New York,’ Truilizio said. ‘I’d call Mike the No. 1 prospect out here. There’s talent to be had. They may be taking a chance coming out here, but I admire it.’

Robinson described his ideal recruiting class to start with a commander as a quarterback – Andrew Robinson – who can run the West Coast Offense in addition to being a pinpoint passer. Though Greg Robinson cannot mention recruits until they sign with a team, he said he’d consider playing a true freshman at quarterback if he gives the Orange the best chance at a win.

That is one reason why recruits who verbally committed before the season are sticking with Syracuse despite its 1-10 record in 2005. But Greg Robinson’s work isn’t done in securing his first full recruiting class.

‘All I can do is lay it out,’ Robinson said. ‘It isn’t really selling. It’s laying it out and making sure that we make it specific to each individual we’re recruiting and showing them and answering the questions that they’re really looking for. Then, let them decide.’

Published on November 29, 2005 at 12:00 pm