Training Camp

Scott Shafer hopes to recruit Marquise Blair in the future and other day 2 notes

Margaret Lin | Staff Photographer

Scott Shafer was disappointed to confirm that safety commit Marquise Blair wasn't granted eligibility by the NCAA.

By Jesse Dougherty

Three days ago, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said it was going to be a “wait and see type thing” with safety Marquise Blair. On Monday, Scout.com reported that Blair has been denied admission to SU by the NCAA, leaving Shafer to discuss another shot at recruiting the four-star safety.

“For me it was a little frustrating because it’s outside my control,” Shafer said at a press conference Monday night. “Most frustrating thing is a young man that put forth a ton of effort and overcame a lot of obstacles and did everything we asked.

“Unfortunately, the NCAA deemed him a little short. Hopefully we’ll come back and get him in a couple years.”

Shafer said that Blair “did everything asked of the school” and “made the grades.” But the NCAA looked into Wooster (Ohio) High School and didn’t approve of how some of his courses were handled, Shafer said. The head coach also confirmed that Blair will head to a junior college that has not yet been determined.

“With Marquise Blair I thought it was worth waiting because he’s a high character kid with a lot of ability,” Shafer said. “… You take risks that you think are worth it.”



Other notes and observations from day two of training camp

The first 20 minutes of Monday’s practice were open to the media, and the team did positional drills and stretched during that time. Here is a bulleted breakdown of the day in Syracuse football, including any relevant comments from Shafer.

  • Syracuse awarded scholarships to sophomore kicker Cole Murphy, junior tight end Cameron MacPherson and sophomore center Donnie Foster, Syracuse.com reported before SU Athletics confirmed Monday night. Read more here.
  • Freshman hybrid Tyrone Perkins was in a white jersey at the start of Monday’s practice, and was the only player aside from the quarterbacks wearing one. Perkins is recovering from an ACL tear that had him miss his senior season at Friends (New York) Academy last year, and did participate in drills and stretching in the 20 minutes open to the media.

Shafer: “He had the surgery a year ago and he looks good, he’s doing well. We just wanted to be aware of where he was on the field. Just being smart.”

  • Sophomore hybrid Ervin Philips, sophomore safety Antwan Cordy, redshirt freshman safety Rodney Williams, junior wide receiver Brisly Estime, freshman running backs Dontae Strickland and Jordan Fredericks all caught punts at the start of Monday’s practice. Estime has scattered experience returning punts for SU, but graduated safety Ritchy Desir was the team’s primary punt returner last season.
  • The Orange has added walk-on freshman running back Jacob Hill to the roster. Hill, who went to Detroit Country Day (Michigan) School, was dressed on the field for the start of practice Monday, and was notably shorter than the rest of his teammates.

Shafer: “He’s an undersized tailback that has great feet and great vision, and he’s an outstanding student. His brother (John Hill) plays safety at Princeton so I think those genes run in the family.”





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