Fran Brown is already having a not-insignificant impact on Syracuse football. The newly appointed head coach of the ACC program is creating some buzz on the recruiting trail.
And that, for anyone who knows Brown, isn’t a shock in the slightest.
Consider the case of Jaelyne Matthews, a four-star offensive lineman from New Jersey. A member of the 2024 recruiting class, Matthews announced his top nine this past Friday and the list did not include Syracuse. Now after the hiring of Brown, Matthews decided to include Syracuse in a revised cutdown.
While the Syracuse staff is still coming together, the hire of Elijah Robinson as defensive coordinator (most recently the defensive line coach at Texas A&M) gives Brown a staff that will be a hit with recruits.
In the case of Matthews, who is committed to play in the 2025 Under Armour All-America Game, it is already paying dividends.
“I believe in the Brown and Robinson effects and they’re gonna shock the world,” Matthews said.
“They have the top two recruiters and coaches and people in the country and why would you not want to be part of that?”
Syracuse represents Brown’s first job as a head coach at any level. But he has had a tremendous resume, with Power Five stops at Baylor, Georgia and Rutgers helping to round out his coaching view.
Syracuse is now part of my top schools
#cuse @RivalsRichie @RivalsFriedman @RivalsDylanCC @FranBrownCuse @CoachE_TAMU
— Jaelyne Matthews (@JaelyneMatthew3) December 4, 2023
Brown is considered the top recruiter in the nation, with a genuine ability to connect with high school players and their families. He has deep ties to the region, having been on staff at Temple (he left the Owls in 2019 as their defensive coordinator) and then was the secondary coach for two seasons at Rutgers.
His two subsequent years at Georgia as their safeties coach, beginning in 2022, certainly give him some juice as heads to a rebuilding Orange program.
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