The Syracuse University football staff lost out on one of its top remaining targets as 6-foot-4 quarterback/tight end prospect Jay Rose opted to stay in-state and play for the UConn Huskies rather than joining the Orange as part of the recruiting class of 2016. Rose also had offers from the likes of Wisconsin, Maryland, NC State, and Wake Forest, but narrowed his choices down to SU and UConn last week.
One of the reasons is that Syracuse and UConn were the two schools most willing to give Rose a shot at playing quarterback. The 230 pound prospect played tight end for his first two high schools seasons before making the move to QB for his junior campaign, in which he threw for more than 3,000 yards and 47 touchdowns.
Jay Rose (@JayRose1010) is a UConn Husky.
— Tim Fontenault (@Tim_Fontenault) September 17, 2015
To be perfectly honest, the decision to stay in-state and play for UConn makes a lot of sense for Rose, as nice as it would have been for the Orange to land him. The 3-star talent had also previously mentioned location playing a role in his decision, so it makes sense that he might want to stay a little closer to home.
In addition to playing only about an hour away from his family, he’s also got a very realistic shot at winning the UConn QB job and becoming a three or four year starter. The road to starting QB is a little tougher at Syracuse, with true freshman Eric Dungey currently attempting to put a stranglehold on the job for the foreseeable future, in addition to sophomores Austin Wilson and AJ Long being on campus and fellow class of ’16 QB Rex Culpepper arriving in January.
If Syracuse is still looking for one more QB in the class of 2016, keep an eye on David Moore, whose dad played lacrosse at SU in the ’80s and who has expressed interest despite being an SMU commit.
