Syracuse Recruiting Roundup: DJ Jackson, Jordan Anthony, Dom Foster, Quadir Copeland

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 21: The West Virginia Mountaineers and the Syracuse Orange play in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

A little bit of this and a little bit of that in the Syracuse recruiting world as we get closer to the start of football season. Here’s some tidbits as we start the week.

Defensive lineman DJ Jackson

Syracuse’s current biggest needs in the 2022 cycle are at defensive line and wide receiver. With three seniors (two sixth-year seniors and a fifth year senior) on the current defensive line, the Orange will need to reload.

One of SU’s top targets at defensive line appears headed elsewhere. DJ Jackson, a Sumter (S.C.) native was initially thought to be a South Carolina lean, but North Carolina State has recently come on and is now projected as a favorite by 247 Sports. He was on the NC State campus over the weekend.

He was part of a large group of recruits to visit Syracuse on June 25 and he put SU in his top 6, but the Orange has since slid back in his recruitment. He’s a three-star defensive lineman ranked as the 20th best prospect in South Carolina. Still, Syracuse already has three other DL commits in the class so far: Q’yaeir Price, Malachi Davis, and Belizaire Bassette.

Athlete (WR) Jordan Anthony

With the exception of one player (RB LeQuint Allen), all of Syracuse’s 2022 commits have been on the defensive side of the ball. With Taj Harris set to move on after this year, the Orange has been looking at Jordan Anthony, an athlete in the 2022 class from Tylertown (MS).

He visited Syracuse the same weekend as Jackson and received an offer. The three-star prospect is the No. 44 athlete in his class and reports a 4.35 40 yard dash time, but is likely staying near home even though the Orange was in his top 7 at one point.

Anthony is focused on Ole Miss, Kentucky, Houston and Boston College, and Syracuse does not appear to be in contention anymore. He is expected to announce on Tuesday and a landslide of predictions have come in for Kentucky.

Defensive back Dom Foster

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer. And to make up for it, Syracuse appears to be among the favorites for three-star defensive back Dom Foster from Ohio. Mike McAllister from Sports Illustrated reports that Foster took a second unofficial visit to Syracuse this weekend, and this time brought his parents with him.

Foster wants to make his decision ahead of the first game of his senior season, which would be Aug. 20. Over the weekend, he picked up offers from Virginia and Buffalo, and his other Power 5 offers include ACC rivals Wake Forest and Boston College.

Combo guard Quadir Copeland

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer. And to make up for it, things are looking good in the 2022 basketball recruiting class. With top 100 prospects Justin Taylor and Kamari Lands already committed, Syracuse should be adding another one soon with four-star combo guard Quadir Copeland.

» Related: Syracuse great Brendan Carney expects ‘6 or 7 wins’ and bowl game

Last week, a 247 recruiting analyst picked Syracuse in a Crystal Ball a week after a Rivals.com FutureCast also went Orange.

Add Seth Davis of the Athletic to the list. In his Peach Jam recap (paywall), he writes that Copeland is “expected to commit to Syracuse soon.”

What’s interesting is that 247 Sports has Copeland at 141 and a three-star, whereas Rivals has him as a four-star ranked 85th. Those two numbers should get closer to each other after Copeland plays at IMG Academy beginning this fall.

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About Steve Auger 165 Articles
Steve Auger is a freelance writer whose work has covered a variety of topics including sports, pets, parenting, healthy living, local government and human interest stories. Steve’s been a diehard Syracuse sports fan for over 25 years. To this day, the words “Smart takes the shot” still make him cringe. And according to Rutgers' fans, he's "not a take."