All it took was one week for Syracuse’s new coaching staff to flip Liam O’Sullivan’s commitment from Cincinnati. One week ago, the Orange offered him a scholarship. He took an official visit to SU on Friday and Saturday. By Monday evening, he had committed.

“Coach (Dino) Babers just seems like a winner,” O’Sullivan said of Syracuse’s new head coach. “Not that Cincinnati’s coach (Tommy) Tuberville didn’t. I just felt right with Coach Babers and I feel he’s really just a hard core coach that I feel I could play for and do very well for.”

O’Sullivan committed to Cincinnati on June 17, but still maintained a strong relationship with then-Bowling Green co-offensive coordinator Sean Lewis. Now, Lewis is in the same position with the Orange and, he, along with the rest of the staff, helped sway O’Sullivan from Cincinnati to SU. O’Sullivan is the 13th commit in Syracuse’s 2016 class and third offensive lineman. He’s rated with three stars and as the 129th best offensive tackle in the Class of 2016.

The 6-foot-7, 247-pound Maine South (Illinois) High School product also had offers from Illinois, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Bowling Green, among others. O’Sullivan is now the third player to choose Syracuse since Babers was hired as head coach just nine days ago.

“Their tradition, their facilities, the whole thing was just really amazing and awesome,” O’Sullivan said of what sold him on the Orange.

Babers said at his introductory press conference that his team wouldn’t huddle. In his time as head coach at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green, his offenses were known for their fast pace. O’Sullivan said his high school team ran an up-tempo style so he feels comfortable with SU’s new system.

Earlier on Monday, two offensive linemen, Noel Brouse and Cam DeGeorge, decommitted from Syracuse. While it’s unknown how many offensive linemen the current staff has room for in its 2016 class, the prior coaching staff’s cap was three. With O’Sullivan’s commitment, that number was reached.

O’Sullivan said no one told him he had to commit by a certain time or how many spots they had left. But he did say he wanted to get it done since he “didn’t want it hanging over my head.” He plans to sign with the Orange on Feb. 3, which is National Signing Day.

On his visit this past weekend, O’Sullivan said he felt star struck when he saw Syracuse’s Ensley Athletic Center, a statue of Ernie Davis and, most notably, the Carrier Dome.

“I could really picture myself playing in (the Dome),” O’Sullivan said, “and the atmosphere has got to be absolutely unreal.”

Published on December 14, 2015 at 8:04 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds