Former Rutgers football assistant Fran Brown was hired by Syracuse this week to be their head coach. It is a move rife with intrigue, and one that could have serious implications for recruiting in the area.
Consistently ranked among the top recruiters in the nation, Brown has deep ties to Philadelphia, all of New Jersey and the tri-state area.
Known as the ‘godfather of recruiting,’ Farrell in many ways created the concept of covering recruiting into the modern phenomenon that it is today.
Brown’s coaching resume is certainly one with stops that could help him at Syracuse.
He spent time at Temple, working his way up to the role of defensive coordinator in 2019 before leaving the next season to join the Rutgers football rebuild under head coach Greg Schiano. Two years as the Rutgers secondary coach led to an opportunity to become the safeties coach at Georgia, the twice-defending national champions.
“Amazing recruiter and a local guy so that will help efforts in New Jersey, New York, New England, etc. – he’s also well connected from his SEC days so that will help greatly in the portal,” Farrell told Rutgers Wire.
“Lack of coordinator experience (at the Power Five level) is an issue and worry and this job is a lot for someone with head coaching experience so an assistant coach is a massive gamble.”
The hiring should help elevate Syracuse’s recruiting profile which is important as the Orange have been mired near the bottom of the ACC in recruiting high school talent. But what will be the impact for Rutgers and programs like Penn State and Boston College in terms of the Brown effect?
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All those programs recruit New Jersey and New York heavily as well as Florida. Areas that Brown now has deep ties.
Farrell doesn’t think it changes the current recruiting landscape very much.
“There should be a slight uptick locally, nothing crazy as Syracuse is a tough place to lure kids to,” Farrell said.
“The key will be winning over the long term, which is why he needs a full five-year commitment.”
Follow Mike Farrell for recruiting news and information as well as college football insight @mfarrellsports.