Michael Clark stood in front of an auditorium filled with coaches, current players and fellow recruits. His host for the weekend, quarterback Zack Mahoney, introduced him. First by naming his hometown. Then by listing off his accolades. And concluding by letting Clark declare his recruitment status.

The former Maryland commit stood still with his hands in his pocket. When he left for Syracuse that weekend, he was uncommitted but picked up an SU offer the day before on Jan. 22.

Mahoney pointed toward Clark, who said he was committing to Syracuse, shocking everyone in attendance. The room erupted with cheers, claps and yells. Clark turned to Mahoney and hugged him.

“I kind of kick-started everybody committing,” Clark said. “… After that, everything just started rolling. Everybody got closer as the weekend went on and everybody felt comfortable.”

Courtesy of Michael Clark
 

During the weekend of Jan. 22-24, the Orange hosted 12 players on official visits, nine of whom were either uncommitted or pledged to a different school. The other three were already verbally committed to SU. But by Thursday of the following week, all 12 players were committed to Syracuse and it all started with Clark’s unconventional announcement.

While linebacker Rashad Smith flipped back to Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, the other 11 visitors all signed their letters of intent to join the Orange, making up 55 percent of SU’s 20-member 2016 recruiting class.

“It’s never happened to me in 31 years of coaching,” Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said of the successful weekend. “… I didn’t know if it was a curse or a blessing, because it’s never happened before. It was a very exciting weekend. It was a weekend of fantastic camaraderie.”

After Babers was hired by Syracuse on Dec. 5, he and his staff scrambled to put together a recruiting class in two months. The group finished with 18 three-star commits, according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings.

Clark said before he pledged, none of the recruits knew how they would commit. Once he got his out of the way, everyone else followed. Less than two hours after Clark committed, running back Jo-El Shaw pledged. Five hours after that, defensive lineman McKinley Williams committed to Syracuse.

The next day, Sun., Jan. 24, was the busiest day of SU’s entire recruiting cycle. Within a span of two hours, safety Evan Foster, defensive lineman Jaquwan Nelson, Smith and wide receiver Devin Butler all chose SU.

“I think (the mood) changed a lot,” Foster said of the weekend progressing, “because once people saw other people committing, I kind of think others were like, ‘Man, why not commit here? There’s only like a week left.’”

As spots started to fill up, different players were told different things by the coaching staff. Clark said he was told there was only one offensive lineman spot left and jumped at the chance. Foster said he was told to take his time but felt the timing was right despite not originally planning to commit during the visit.

The coaching staff stressed the possibility of early playing time, Foster said, and as each player took the opportunity, the majority of Syracuse’s 2016 class was solidified.

But it all started with Clark’s unexpected announcement and eight commitments later, a core of Syracuse’s recruiting class was formed.

“You could tell that it was a special group,” Babers said. “You get a foundation like that, with that 2016 class, and we can build upon that group in 2017 and 2018.”

Published on February 4, 2016 at 12:14 am

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds