Syracuse Orange News

View our full coverage of National Signing Day at ACC Signing Day Central

Head Coach: Dino Babers

Total number of commitments: 20

Dino Babers had a late start to the recruiting cycle. When he took the job in December, less than two months remained until National Signing Day. That didn’t stop him from getting his staff to work immediately and delivering a message.

That message: We need to be better. Of the 15 recruits that the previous regime had secured commitments from, Babers and his staff retained just four. The school promised to honor any scholarship offers, but Babers reportedly explained that the player didn’t fit into the school’s plans and wouldn’t have much of an opportunity to play.

Whether it was confidence that he would be able to bring in someone better or simply determination to find his type of players, even if it meant playing short-handed at the beginning rather than lowering his standards, Babers delivered the message that the team was upgrading its talent level immediately.

Given the harsh welcome from the new head coach, most chose to look elsewhere, decommitting from the Orange in droves. In their wake, Babers has rebuilt the class with 15 of his own recruits, bringing in large groups for simultaneous visits and flipping players from other programs.

The staff was relentless in its lightning-fast recruiting blitz.

“He basically gave me no reason to go play anywhere else,” 3-star wide receiver Devin Butler told Syracuse.com.

The result is a class that, on paper, may not excite fans, but the back-story on how the class was put together should inspire hope that Babers will be able to turn the program around through high standards and a strong work ethic.