AP Photo/Joe Giblin

By Tim Schlittner

In April, the Daily Orange wrote a piece about all the players that had left the Syracuse program since Doug Marrone became head coach. In May, when it was announced that E.J. Carter was thrown off the team for disciplinary reasons, Marrone’s critics turned into a chorus.

Many fans including some on this site criticized Marrone for taking his no nonsense approach too far. Dave Cooperman wrote: “Doug Marrone needs to take a long look in the mirror and assess his plan of action in returning Syracuse to glory.” Five days later, he added: “As we approach a critical recruiting class for the Marrone Era, you can only imagine the whispers and negative recruiting that are being spread about our football program.  He has given the Schiano’s, Wannstedt’s, Edsall’s and every other football coach he battles for talent an open door to make negative judgments on the job he is doing. The bottom-line is that Marrone needs to have a big time recruiting period.  He doesn’t have to accumulate 4 and 5 star players, but he does need to make sure the 2 and 3 star kids he gets signed grow up to be talented football players early in their Syracuse football career.”

Don’t look now but Marrone is doing just that.

In just the last week, he has won commitments from linebacker Oliver Vigille who chose Syracuse over South Florida (take that Skip Holtz) and linebacker Cameron Lynch (Rivals.com 3 stars). They join quarterback Terrel Hunt, punter Jonathan Fisher, defensive end Donnie Simmons (Rivals.com 2 stars), running back/defensive back Tyree Smallwood (Rivals.com 2 stars), defensive back Jaston George (Rivals.com 2 stars) and tight end Louie Addazio. I’ll admit that I don’t know everything about all of these kids, but I like what I hear so far. Marrone and his staff are on a full court recruiting press in New York, New Jersey, and Florida, a triumvirate of states that have been key to Syracuse’s past success.  

Jamie Newburg, who covers recruiting for ESPN.com, has taken notice of Marrone’s recruiting achievements. In a July 7 column, he wrote: “A lot of things need to happen for Marrone and his Syracuse staff to succeed, but they are well on their way a year and a half later.”

In a rebuttal to Dave’s May recruiting post, I wrote: “Unlike Greg Robinson, who was virtually unknown in our strongest recruiting regions, Marrone has spent years cultivating relationships with high school coaches. He’s hosted football camps and provided equipment to local programs. Our Big East rivals may try to make Marrone into a monster, but too many players and coaches throughout the northeast already know better. They’ve met the real Marrone or know somebody who has.”

As the 2011 recruiting period proceeds, it becomes clearer with each passing day that Marrone’s hard work and reputation are paying off.