James Heard Jr., a football transfer, is the most recent player the Orange have signed.
Fran Brown, the new head coach, continues to assemble a talented group of Syracuse Orange football recruits. James Heard Jr., a transfer edge rusher who redshirted in his only season at West Virginia, is the newest player added to the 2024 roster.
Heard came from Brown’s hometown of Camden, New Jersey, and was rated as a three-star prospect at first. For the Mountaineers, he made three appearances but did not log any stats.
Before Sunday, the 6’2″, 230-pound defensive edge had the potential to immediately establish himself as a key player in a position group that was thin. Heard was initially offered by several schools, including Penn State, Tennessee, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and others, even though his recent pursuits were less well-known.
It’s also important to remember that his main Aggie recruiter was Elijah Robinson, the new defensive coordinator, who probably played a big part in getting him to Syracuse.
Heard is ranked as the sixth-highest pick by Brown and the seventh-highest rated recruit/transfer for the Orange, but he stands out for having the best composite score (88.04) among defensive players. Additionally, he will be a part of a strong foundation that will aid in rebuilding the pass rush because he still has four years left to be eligible.
After concluding his formal visit to West Virginia, Colorado State defensive back transfer TJ Crandall will spend the next day or so deciding where he wants to call home.
“Monday or Tuesday is when I’ll make my decision,” Crandall stated to Mountaineers Now. “It was a wonderful visit. I had a fantastic time. Bishop Beanie was really nice and really tried to persuade me to commit when I spoke with him. The employees went above and beyond to try to help me. I can tell that I was a priority to Coach (Neal) Brown and Coach ShaDon (Brown) because they flew out to see me before the visit.”
Although Crandall will choose between UCLA and West Virginia, he has received offers from Arkansas, Arizona State, Cal, Cincinnati, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State, NC State, Oregon State, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin.
“Life after football at UCLA is fantastic. It’s an incredible chance to be in Los Angeles, network with companies, and earn a top-notch degree. Additionally, Coach Whit seems like a really knowledgeable coach, and I am confident that he would help me develop my skills.”
“For me personally, West Virginia offers the best opportunity to play out of all the schools that are recruiting me. I believe I can fill Beanie’s shoes and help him become an All-American because I saw how Coach ShaDon and Coach (Jevaughn) Codlin supported and helped him.”
“I want to be sure that the team I am going to join has the fire and support from their fanbase that not everyone will get, so I would say that the strength of the fan base is important for sure. NIL is correlated with skill level, so I know that if I can perform to the best of my abilities, those things will happen.”
