Syracuse football Recruiting Rewind: Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and the Michael Vick what-if

Snow. It snows a lot in Syracuse. I’d call it a biblical amount of snow except most of the biblical events happened in warmer climates. It’s Norse mythological amounts of snow in Syracuse.

The snow falls in giant flakes from the gray, cloudy, sunless sky. It swirls around you as you try to walk across Syracuse’s hilly campus, navigating the ice-covered sidewalks and the rows of students in North Face, Patagonia and Canada Goose jackets. In 1993, nearly 36 inches of snow crashed down onto Syracuse over a 24-hour period. This happened in mid-March. You know, the time when spring break is happening. If this were a series about snowfall, Syracuse would be Alabama. No. 1. Undisputed. The GOAT of snow.

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But unfortunately for Syracuse fans, this series is about football recruiting. And any clear-eyed, orange-clad fan would agree that Syracuse is at a huge disadvantage when it comes to recruiting players to the snowy outpost of the Dome.

Oddly, though, despite those disadvantages, Syracuse has had an impressive collection of incredible and important college football recruits. Let’s run through the blizzard of names (sorry — last snow pun) in Syracuse football history.

Best recruit, pre-internet rankings: Jim Brown, RB

Here’s how great Brown was. He likely could be named the greatest football and lacrosse recruit in Syracuse history. The Manhasset (N.Y.) High grad was famous for holding his lacrosse stick against his chest, running through lines of helpless defenders and launching the ball into the net over and over and over again. Lacrosse officials later changed the rules to prevent another Jim Brown from happening.

And yet, he was better at football. In 2020, ESPN ranked Brown as the greatest college football player ever. But Brown means more to Syracuse than his excellence on the field. His No. 44 jersey became a badge of honor for great Syracuse running backs who followed, a number worn by Ernie Davis and Floyd Little. The number became synonymous with not only football but also pretty much everything to do with the school. Syracuse University’s zip code was even changed from 13210 to 13244 to honor Brown’s number. And you would think hanging up Brown’s jersey in the rafters at the JMA Wireless Dome would be enough. But not for Brown. Syracuse even has a banner that simply reads: Jim Brown. Greatest Player Ever.

Best recruit, modern era: Marquis Spruill, LB

The past two decades have been bleak for Syracuse. Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison, Keith Bulluck and Dwight Freeney just missed the “modern-date” cutoff by a few years. The tendency is to go with a quarterback here, either Ryan Nassib or Eric Dungey. Running back Sean Tucker just wrapped up one of the finest careers for his position in recent school history. But I am choosing to put a spotlight on the defensive side of the ball with Spruill.

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The Hillside, N.J., native did not get a college scholarship offer out of high school in 2009 and chose to attend Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy to build up college interest. Even then, Syracuse only had to beat out schools such as Temple and James Madison to get Spruill on campus. But once he arrived, he became a fixture. A four-year starter, Spruill was part of a defensive unit that helped lead a resurgence for Syracuse football under then-head coach Doug Marrone. Without an overpowering offense, those Marrone teams needed strong defense to win games. Spruill was a key figure within that game plan and had one of the most productive careers in school history.

Most influential recruit: Ernie Davis, RB

Part of this answer is due to already naming Brown to a previous category. But it’s also out of respect for Davis, a landmark figure in the game of football. Davis, who was recruited by Brown, wore No. 44 to honor Brown, essentially codifying the numerical tradition into the school’s history.

In Davis’ sophomore season in 1959, he led Syracuse to its only national championship, beating the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl. He averaged 7.8 yards per carry in his junior year. As a senior, he became the first Black athlete to be awarded the Heisman Trophy.

But whenever you talk about Davis, there’s always the thought of what could have been. Shortly after being selected with the No.1 pick in the 1962 NFL Draft and getting traded to Jim Brown’s team — the Cleveland Browns — Davis was diagnosed with leukemia. He never played a professional game and died in May 1963. Davis’ influence extends beyond excellence on the field. His story, the way he faced racism and upended the establishment in college football, remains a point of pride for Syracuse.

Biggest bust: Cecil Howard, QB

As you’ll see below with “The one who got away,” Syracuse almost became a dual-threat QB factory at the turn of the millennium. In the late ’90s, McNabb teamed up with Marvin Harrison to bring an exciting brand of football to the then-Carrier Dome. McNabb’s success at Syracuse drew the attention of recruits, and Howard was supposed to be the “next great one.” The five-star QB recruit out of McKeesport High in Western Pennsylvania ranked 13th overall in the 2001 class.

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Quickly, though, it became clear his time at Syracuse wasn’t going to work out. He redshirted his first year on campus — which turned out to be his only year on campus. His college football journey included stops at Youngstown State, Northeastern and, lastly, California University of Pennsylvania. In an interview with Syracuse’s student newspaper, The Daily Orange, Howard explained he left Syracuse because he was lonely and felt like he didn’t fit in, saying, “I wondered why I should stay there for four years and be unhappy when I could go somewhere else and be happier.”

Best developmental story: Chandler Jones, DE

A telltale sign someone is a good “developmental story” is when their position in the recruiting rankings is not the position they ended up at professionally. Jones was ranked as a two-star tight end out of the Binghamton, N.Y., area. At the time, he was best known as the little brother of star Syracuse defensive lineman Art Jones.

That undeveloped tight end evolved into a mauling, athletic defensive end, and he was selected in the first round of the 2012 draft by the New England Patriots. More than a decade later, Jones has racked up 100-plus sacks and multiple Pro Bowls as one of the NFL’s most reliable pass rushers.

The one who got away: Michael Vick, QB

The one who got away is a bit like casting possibilities for movies. Did you know Will Smith turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix? This what-if is fun to think about, and there’s some veracity to it, but how close was the recruit to choosing the school?

Well, according to McNabb, Vick wanted to come to Syracuse. McNabb recruited Vick, who said it was between Virginia Tech and Syracuse. The deciding factor? Vick’s mom wanted him to stay closer to home and go to Virginia Tech.

For Syracuse fans, there are multiple levels of pain in this what-if. Vick would have debuted for the Orange the season after McNabb left for the NFL. McNabb and Vick back to back could have turned Syracuse (however unlikely) into a late-’90s/early-2000s version of Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma, where dynamic Heisman candidate quarterbacks rotate through the position.

Instead, Vick ended up at Syracuse’s rival Virginia Tech. In 1999, Vick’s first season starting, the Hokies beat the Orange 62-0. Without a proper successor to McNabb, Syracuse’s football program declined, leading to the firing of head coach Paul Pasqualoni after the 2004 season and the hiring of Greg Robinson, who went 10-37 over his four years as head coach. It’s a hole Syracuse has never recovered from.

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All because Vick’s mom wanted her baby closer to home (understandably so!).

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories looking back at recruiting superlatives for select Power 5 programs. The stories can be found here. 

(Top photo of Ernie Davis: Rich Clarkson / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)