Darrick Scott would sit at home reading college football recruiting Web sites with disgust.

Every time he logged on to Scout.com or Rivals.com and checked the list of Syracuse commitments for the Class of 2009, the only name he would see was his own. The lone soul with a verbal promise to play for the Orange.

Then the rumors started flying. He heard over and over that Greg Robinson’s future as head coach was anything but certain. Suddenly, Syracuse didn’t seem like the best fit for a four-star defensive back like Scott anymore.

Scott, who attends Governor Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick, Md., announced his decision last weekend to break a verbal commitment to Syracuse and sign with Central Michigan instead.

‘I read all the blogs on the Internet, and it opened my eyes when people all were talking, ‘Oh, we don’t know if the coaching staff will be intact or not,” Scott said in a telephone interview Friday morning. ‘That’s all hearsay right now, but people started saying it. If enough people say it, it will eventually be true.

‘A lot of guys were saying, ‘Why would you commit to Syracuse? You’re a four-star. You’re better than Syracuse.”

The Orange has struggled mightily to land commitments so far this year, possibly because high school players are scared away from Syracuse’s 7-28 record the last three seasons under Robinson. And not just top-flight prospects, either. Any prospects.

According to Rivals.com, the Orange now has two recruits for next year: linebacker Raheem Cardwell and wide receiver Leavander Jones, both considered two-star talents. By contrast, Big East rival Rutgers already has 19 verbals, including two four-star players.

Syracuse has the fewest recruits of any Big East school. Louisville has the second fewest with five.

This comes one year after Robinson landed his best recruiting class at SU, which included tailback Averin Collier and wideout Marcus Sales.

Perhaps Scott’s departure adds insight to the shaky state of Syracuse football recruiting.

‘I got leery because I didn’t want to get up there and be stuck,’ Scott said. ‘If I went there and Coach Robinson and his staff was gone, now what am I going to do? I would have to deal with new coaches who don’t know me or how I play.’

Apparently, Scott’s teammates and peers had similar concerns. After committing to Syracuse, Scott went on the recruiting trail himself, hoping to convince his friends and other Division I prospects from the Maryland and Washington D.C. area to lose their preconceptions and consider signing with Syracuse.

Each time, Scott was rejected, often with little or no explanation.

‘One kid, Anthony Young-Wiseman out of Bethesda, (Md.,), he and I were talking, and I thought he would be good for Syracuse,’ Scott said. ‘He said, ‘Hey man, I’m going to Duke. I’m sorry.’ I don’t know why, but he didn’t even think about it.’

Scott’s fears about Robinson’s job security put the cornerback over the edge, and Scott started searching for a better opportunity.

Central Michigan immediately stuck out. Two of Scott’s close friends, Leron Eaddy and Malek Redd from River Hill High School in Clarksville, Md., had already signed with the Chippewas and were coaxing him to de-commit from Syracuse. Also, Scott knew CMU defensive coordinator Tim Banks, who Scott met at a football camp his freshman year of high school.

Scott said Eaddy and Redd were both willing to sign with the Orange so the three of them could play together, but they never received scholarship offers. They both latched on with Central Michigan instead and hoped Scott would jump ship and join them.

That’s exactly what happened, leaving SU without its lone bright spot this recruiting season.

Just more bad news for Syracuse in a summer already blighted by the loss of leading receiver Mike Williams and defensive end Brandon Gilbeaux for academic reasons.

‘I said, ‘Wow, why can’t I pull people in?” Scott said. ‘Nobody wanted to bite on Syracuse. That’s my honest opinion. I thought I was going to be there by myself.’

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on August 15, 2008 at 12:00 pm