Syracuse, N.Y. — A busy week of recruiting for Syracuse caps off on Saturday with a chance to land one of the top 2016 targets on the team’s board.
The Orange picked up pledges from Georgia defensive back Monquavion Brinson and New Jersey defensive end Jamal Holloway on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, and declined to accept a commitment from Florida safety Devon Clarke on Wednesday.
On Saturday at 1 p.m., Forestview (Gastonia, N.C.) High School hybrid target Moe Neal will announce his verbal commitment. He is down to two finalists, Syracuse and Wake Forest, he said in a text message on Friday.
The 5-foot-11, 160-pound Neal is rated three stars and the No. 38 athlete in the country by 247Sports.com’s composite rankings. He is a speedy athlete who would play hybrid in SU offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s new offense, lining up on the wing, in the slot and in the backfield and contributing as both a running and receiving threat.
Neal believes the position would be an ideal fit as he’s comfortable operating out of the slot and has taken jet sweeps from the wing and more traditional carries from the backfield in high school.
He carried the ball 273 times for 2,018 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior, according to MaxPreps.com, while adding 35 receptions for 549 yards and another nine scores. Neal accounted for 74 total touchdowns in his three seasons of high school ball.
In early May, he named SU to his Top 5, along with Duke, Wake Forest, Boston College and Mississippi State. His other offers include Georgia Tech, West Virginia and North Carolina State, per 247Sports.com.
Neal has visited Syracuse twice, first with future running back commit Robert Washington for the Florida State game last year. He then returned with his father for a more expansive unofficial visit on July 16. The only school he’s visited since is Wake Forest.
Neal keeps in regular contact with his primary recruiter, SU running backs coach DeAndre Smith, as well as a handful of others on staff including wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator Bobby Acosta and operations and recruiting quality assistant Cole Dial.
Ultimately, though, having Washington in the fold may be Syracuse’s best selling point.
Neal has known Washington since the summer going into eighth grade when the two met at a Future Stars camp. They live about 15 minutes away from each other, Washington said, and have teamed up for USA Football with Washington lining up in the backfield and Neal in the slot.
Robert Washington (left), Aapri Washington (middle), Moe Neal (right) on their unofficial visit to Syracuse for the Florida State game last season.
“It was just a bond from Day 1 and we grew from there,” Neal said previously. “We’ve went on combines together, visits, the whole nine yards. We’re family now.”
Syracuse currently has 14 players committed to its Class of 2016, including 2015 holdover defensive end Brandon Ginnetti. The Orange has one hybrid pledged in Georgia native Darius Stubbs.
SU is expected to take about 18 players this cycle in order to stay under the NCAA cap of 85 total scholarships. All verbal commitments are non-binding until the player signs a national letter of intent in February.
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