Syracuse Football Having Success in the Recruiting Game

Ralph Cotran

Syracuse University Football

Syracuse University football offensive coordinator George McDonald and director of recruiting Eric White have been delivering to their Twitter fans. Exclamations such as “BOOM!” and “#BeBold” have been used to announce the a new a new verbal commitment from a prospect to play football at SU, the Post-Standard reports.

These exclamation are not unwarranted apparently. So far, Syracuse has earned itself commitments from 25 recruits – the highest at this point in the recruiting cycle since the statistic started being tracking 2002. The 2015 Syracuse recruiting class is ranked 28th currently by Rivals.com and 43rd by Scout.  McDonald has roots in Florida and has had a great deal of success so far with securing commitments from that area, with seven players thus far. The high school football programs in that state have been shown to be strong recruiting grounds and having success there could prove invaluable for SU this season.

This influx of recruits so early in the cycle should allow the SU coaching staff to start looking ahead at 2016 and developing a long game.

The coaching staff, under the direction of McDonald, has made targeting players that fit the team’s philosophy and approach to play a top priority, and this could explain much of this early success in in recruiting.

“I think having a lot of guys on board shows the commitment that we’ve made to recruiting and recruiting the right players, but it also shows from a university standpoint that we’re doing something right and we have a lot of excitement across the country,” McDonald said.

McDonald’s excitement here is also not unwarranted. By any fair metric, Syracuse’s 7-6 finish in 2013 was quite an accomplishment for the team’s first season in the ACC combined with the fact that they were being led by a first-year coaching staff. Head coach Scott Schaffer has said that he aims to win 8 this season, a number that would certainly validate the new recruits and give credence to McDonald’s strategies.

Read more at the Post-Standard.

New York City FC Collaborates with Alcohoot

Ralph CotranNew York City Football Club, is the newest sports team to join the legendary NY sports family, and play in Yankee stadium for the foreseeable future. The newest Major League franchise has taken US soccer by storm, and are expected to play at least three seasons. NYC FC’s roster has been stacked to the nines with well known players such David Villa, Andrew Jacobson and Sebastian Velasquez.  Along with others, these players will be competing with other Major League teams, making this the 21st addition to MLS. 

Not long after their arrival, NYC FC announced their collaboration with Alcohoot- a smartphone app that acts as a breathalyzer in order to help people check their blood alcohol content (BAC)  before driving or engaging in dangerous activities. During the FC matches, Alcohoot will be showcasing “last call” reminders to people in the stadium in order to promote responsible drinking and remind everyone to not drive if they have been consuming large amounts of alcohol. This initiative is meant to remind sports fans to act responsibly after a long day of drinking. NYC FC’s President, Tom Glick,  is proud of this partnership and believes that it will be a great way to reach out to large quantities of people at once, especially during a weak moment they might be experiencing. 

The collaboration between Alcohoot and NYC FC will go even further in setting up booths at soccer matches and remind fans to plan accordingly when getting home. Alcohoot success has also been recognized by the tech industry, and was the receiver of the 2014 Red Dot Award for Product Design. The device has been registered and approved by the FDA and will continue to improve its technology in order to promote safety through mobile devices. 

For more information visit: http://www.kten.com/story/28665543/alcohoot-kicks-off-new-partnership-with-new-york-city-football-club