Alin Edouard will enroll at Syracuse in January, a decision he confirmed in a text message Monday afternoon.

The news was first announced by SU head coach Scott Shafer in a video on Cuse.com, and Edouard said in a text conversation Monday night that the decision is a chance for him to have a “fresh start” in the winter.

“I felt like it was best for me to do,” Edouard said in a text. “Instead of coming around this time, I wanted a fresh start.”

Edouard, a three-star commit, was supposed to join freshman quarterback AJ Long — who enrolled at Syracuse last January — as the second quarterback in the Orange’s newest class, but undisclosed personal matters in Miami have kept him at home. Shafer also confirmed Monday that Edouard will have four years of eligibility upon matriculating.

“I’m thankful for my struggles,” Edouard said in a text. “It just makes me more hungry when I get back in the classroom and on the field.”

Throughout training camp, Shafer continually said that Edouard would join the team when Edouard was ready and that he wasn’t going to give up on the Hialeah (Florida) High School quarterback. Shafer and Edouard both said Monday that Edouard and his family decided that waiting until January was for the best.

“But what Alin will get to do is practice in spring ball, summer ball and then get started,” Shafer said in the video of Edouard’s delayed start. “Create a little natural separation between he and the other freshmen that are on the team now and will be sophomores.”

In the meantime, Edouard is compensating for lost time by working out every day and studying the Syracuse playbook, he said. 

Edouard recognizes that the process hasn’t been easy, but he is ready to jump into college football when the time comes.

“It’s a bad gut feeling,” Edouard said in a text. “But I’m going to come in and pick up fast. I really don’t say much. I really let my actions speak.”

Published on September 8, 2014 at 6:38 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse