Football Recruiting

Former Syracuse commit Isaiah McDuffie: ‘The lack of communication made me have to part ways’

By Sam Fortier

Former Syracuse commit and Class of 2017 outside linebacker Isaiah McDuffie said he chose to leave the Orange’s recruiting class after receiving two phone calls and one text in two months from the new coaching staff.

“They would talk to me, but it wasn’t a priority,” McDuffie said. “It wasn’t like I was committed or like you’d expect. … I just wasn’t comfortable with the atmosphere, I mean the attitude of the program. I didn’t like the new feel of the coaching staff. They’re great men, no doubt about it, but it was not what I was looking for.”

The Buffalo, New York prospect from Bennett High School had previously committed to Syracuse in July 2015 under then-head coach Scott Shafer. SU fired Shafer on November 23, 2015, which McDuffie said left him shocked and confused. Six months later, on Tuesday night, Shafer’s last future commit decommitted from SU. McDuffie committed to Boston College on Wednesday afternoon.

He joins a team that finished winless in eight tries in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season, the last loss coming on a final-second field goal in Syracuse. Paul Pasqualoni, who coached SU’s football team from 1991 to 2004, is an assistant coach on the defensive line at BC.

McDuffie met Syracuse’s new coaching staff, lead by Dino Babers, on Junior Day at Syracuse. On Feb. 20, he toured the football facilities, saw SU men’s basketball play Pittsburgh and introduced himself to his then-future coaches.



The then-commit stressed that he liked the coaches personally, but the lack of communication made him decide that he’d be better off parting ways with Syracuse.

“(In the times we talked), they said they liked me a lot and that I’m going to be a good player in their system. We just had normal conversation,” McDuffie said. “… But if they are not communicating with you enough then you kind of get the message that they might not want you.”

In March, weeks after his Syracuse visit, McDuffie talked with his parents and quietly re-opened his recruitment.

“This is well thought out,” McDuffie said of the timing in his announcements. “I didn’t just act right away.”

He also communicated with Louisville, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh and Rutgers. The latter two were the biggest contenders.

“That’s a lot of (Atlantic Coast Conference) schools,” he said, laughing. “… I liked the environment (at BC). I like everything they have to offer. That’s the best decision for me to advance my career.”

Because McDuffie picked Boston College, which is in the ACC Atlantic, he will play against Syracuse every year of his college career if he stays with BC.

“I think it’ll be exciting to play Syracuse and to come back to my home state,” McDuffie said. “You can say (I’ll have a chip on my shoulder) I guess, when I play Syracuse. But that’s OK. This is the (recruiting) process and I understand that things happen.

“I have nothing against Syracuse, I love the fan base, but the lack of communication made me have to part ways.”





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