The Syracuse Orange football program lost a Class of 2012 recruit Sunday, as three-star defensive linemen Harold Brantley announced that he's now committing to the Missouri Tigers. Brantley (6-foot-3, 280 pounds) initially committed to Syracuse but after a weekend visit to Columbia, MI. had a change of heart.
The loss of Brantley drops the Orange's incoming recruiting class from No. 55 to 57, according to Scout.com's John Garcia Jr. Syracuse currently has 22 verbal commits but still have a few 'soft' commits that have yet to declare their official destination.
The Orange could rebound from the loss of Barntley by stealing three-star defensive tackle Julian Pinnix-Odrick from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Pinnix-Ordick committed to the Scarlet Knights this summer but visited Syracuse over the weekend and is now "SU 'heavy'" says Garcia.
"Brantley is more of a play-maker," tweeted Garcia, "Ordick is more consistent."
So far, Syracuse's biggest verbal commit is Rob Thompson (6-4, 235), a four-star player who SU coaches said would play tight end -- possible a future replacement for senior tight end Nick Provo -- but also could play defense.
The other four-star commit is quarterback Ashton Broyld, who enrolled at SU in early January.
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