By Tom Sullivan

Next week, Euclid 419er will profile the Syracuse wide receivers as part of Otto’s Army’s weekly Football Friday series heading into fall camp. Well, his work just got a little more difficult as the position unexpectedly expanded by one this week. 

As first picked up by Sean Keeley over at Nunes Magician, The Morning Call Newspaper of the Lehigh Valley reported Tuesday that Jarrod West, a 6’2” 190 lb WR from Bethlehem, PA, will enroll  this fall at Syracuse after failing to qualify academically at Stanford where he had signed his letter of intent this past February.

Now let me start by saying that on the surface I, like most, would normally have an issue taking a non-qualifier. But that’s not the case here. West has qualified up and down in the eyes of the NCAA clearinghouse. However Stanford, like Notre Dame, Duke and Northwestern, has its own set of independent admissions policies that are much tougher than other schools for football recruits. Simply because West did not qualify to gain entrance into Stanford, one of the nation’s most prestigious academic institutions, does not mean he’s a subpar student. In fact, from all reports he’s just the opposite: “I fell just 100 points short on my SATs. I could have gotten into almost any other school in the country”. Considering 98% of the readers of this site and I would never be allowed to set foot on the Palo Alto campus for anything more than a tour, I’m glad he was able to find a place he felt was home so quickly at SU.

As for Jarrod West the player, it’s a heck of a surprise pickup for the Orange at one of its biggest positions of need. After the loss of Mike Williams, there’s not a single proven playmaker remaining in the wide receiving corps. West was considered a 3-star prospect by both Rivals and Scout, but his list of offers – including Missouri, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and Cincinnati among others – rivals (and may even surpass) any of the other incoming freshman enrolling this fall at Syracuse.

It’s clear just from his measurements that’s he’s got the size to come in and compete from day one of camp in August, but like any other freshman receiver, he’ll have to prove his route running is sharp and he can block – the two biggest obstacles that hold any young receiver back. If he proves to be at least serviceable at those two things, there’s a chance he sees the field this fall. Not bad for a kid who was heading to prep school just a few days ago.

In the football doldrums of June, when the only news you usually hear is of player mischief, Coach Marrone and the Syracuse football community woke up to a pleasant surprise on Tuesday. And there’s nothing to thank more for it than higher education.