During his senior year of high school, Romale Tucker verbally committed to Virginia, a successful Atlantic Coast Conference program that had played eight bowl games in the previous decade. But when it came time to put his word on paper, Tucker realized winning was only fun from the field, not the sideline. That’s when Greg Robinson swooped in.

Syracuse’s head coach couldn’t guarantee victories, but there was something he could promise alluring enough to attract the four-star defensive end away from Virginia and into Central New York.

‘He said I could come and start right away,’ Tucker said. ‘No other school told me I could start like Syracuse did. Virginia said I’d play and whatnot, but they never came out and spoke to me and said I could play as soon as I got there.’

Because of academic concerns, Tucker enrolled this year at Milford Academy, a prep school in New Berlin, N.Y., but his commitment to the Orange remained solid. Now he is one of the integral pieces in Syracuse’s best recruiting class since Robinson became head coach before the 2005 season, and the possibility of immediate playing time is the biggest reason why.

Wide receiver Marcus Sales, running back Averin Collier and Tucker, all four-star prospects according to Scout.com, highlight the group of around 25 recruits expected to join the Orange today, National Letter of Intent signing day. Robinson will hold a press conference this afternoon to discuss the incoming class.

On Nov. 8, The Daily Orange reported that Tucker was the SU’s only recruit rated above two stars, and it looked like another disappointing offseason for the Orange. Cornerback Grant Mayes from Seton Hall (N.J.) Prep, who committed in July, was later declared a three-star talent.

Since then, Syracuse received verbal commitments from the nation’s No. 29 receiver (Sales), No. 12 tailback (Collier) and four other three-star players. Mikhail Marinovich, Tucker’s teammate at Milford, is a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com and a three-star prospect on Scout.com.

Suddenly, SU has a consensus top-50 recruiting class – third best in the Big East behind Pittsburgh and Rutgers – and a rare reason to be excited in the Robinson era as recruits become more comfortable with the head coach’s system.

‘You want to play, and that’s the bottom line,’ said Mayes, who was heavily recruited by Tennessee and Michigan State, among others. ‘That’s why these guys came. When Taj (Smith) left, Marcus came. We want to play big games, but we want to play. We just had a 2-10 season, so every spot is open there.’

Since Daryl Gross became the athletic director, SU has considered itself New York’s college team – a self-proclaimed title that’s been the punchline of jokes more than anything else. For the first time, that slogan has seemingly come true. Collier from Churchville-Chili and Sales of Syracuse’s Christian Brothers Academy are the top two high school seniors in the state.

For both players, the possibility of playing right away was a huge draw. Collier spurned offers from Alabama and Clemson to play for the Orange, while Sales had scholarships from Miami (Fla.) and Pittsburgh on the table.

Last season, Collier rushed for 1,170 yards on 95 carries and four touchdowns. He also returned two kickoffs for scores and caught nine touchdowns for a school record 15. When he made his commitment to SU in December, Collier had 19 scholarship offers. But like Tucker, he saw a chance to play at Syracuse before anywhere else.

‘When your program is on top, you enjoy success for a long time and get all the recruits, so you become stockpiled,’ said Paul Dick, head coach of Churchville-Chili. ‘Averin went through the same thing at Clemson and Alabama. He knew he could go there and play for a big name, but he’d have to sit and wait. At Syracuse, that won’t happen.’

That’s what Sales wanted, but finding the right fit wasn’t easy. Like Clemson and Alabama, as Dick said, Big East schools are starting to stockpile recruits, too. Eventually, Sales narrowed his choices to Pittsburgh – where his brother, Kevin, plays halfback – and Syracuse.

Even at Pitt, Sales figured he’d have to wait around a couple years before playing. Syracuse provided everything he wanted: the chance to play right away and still stay in the Big East.

‘Over these last few years, Syracuse hasn’t had as strong classes as those other Big East schools, and that’s obviously a negative,’ said Joe Casamento, head coach at CBA. ‘Not that Marcus Sales couldn’t play at those other places. He would’ve eventually played at West Virginia or Rutgers of UConn or USF, but he wouldn’t have played as soon. It was easy for him.’

For the first time in the Robinson era, it looks like Syracuse is keeping up with the rest of the league, but it has taken four years. Casamento thinks the way SU fired former coach Paul Pasqualoni is the main reason why Robinson has struggled to recruit during his tenure.

On Dec. 3, 2004, Chancellor Nancy Cantor announced Pasqualoni would return for a 15th season. Eleven days later, Cantor hired Gross as athletics director, and Pasqualoni was fired on Dec. 30, ignoring Cantor’s previous statement.

Pasqualoni had a good relationship with top high school coaches in the area and had significant success during his career with Syracuse. Casamento said he and other coaches felt betrayed by the SU administration.

‘Coaches are still upset with the university, I know I am,’ Casamento said. ‘I didn’t like the way in which they handled firing Paul. It was a black eye for a good institution. We’re a fraternity, and that definitely set them back. There was a lot of animosity for what was a great university and a great program.’

Casamento said he and other coaches were uncomfortable sending recruits to Syracuse after the Pasqualoni dismissal. Despite that, two CBA players have signed with Syracuse since Robinson took over – Lavar Lobdell and Bruce Williams.

Dick agreed with Casamento, but said the program’s reputation started changing this winter when Gross decided to retain Robinson for a fourth season, despite public disapproval.

‘It would have been a huge mistake to get rid of him at this point,’ Dick said. ‘It was a knee-jerk reaction to get rid of Paul in the first place, and they fed the crowd. Now the program is struggling. If they get rid of this guy, they’d be on the coaching carousel, and anyone who thinks about going there will know it.’

Robinson and his staff have started making relationships with local coaches, and it will pay dividends today. For the first time, Robinson has three four-star recruits. He never signed more than two in any previous class.

Of course, considering Robinson’s 7-28 record in three years with the Orange, he still has a lot to prove. A few solid recruits look good, but it’ll take more than that to convince Gross – and the Syracuse fan base – that Robinson is actually the right man for the job.

But his recruiting tactics this year have worked, on paper. He told high school seniors they’d have a chance to play right away, and it looks like they are buying into it.

‘If me and Ave (Collier) and this class can get this thing going, it’ll be, ‘Wow, look what we did from scratch at [ITALICS]Syracuse[ITALICS],” Mayes said. ‘If we can get to a bowl game after a 2-10 season, that’ll be bigger than the Super Bowl. That’ll be our Super Bowl.’

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on February 5, 2008 at 12:00 pm