Syracuse analyst excited Orange aiming high with Colorado football de-commit pursuit

Inside The Loud House's Neil Adler is excited that the new Syracuse coaching staff led by Fran Brown is aiming high for former Colorado football de-commit Winston Watkins, who backed off his Buffs commitment after the 2023 season.

"When I wrote this article, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite placed Watkins as four stars, No. 102 overall, No. 12 at wide receiver and No. 16 in Florida," Adler prefaced before saying, "Over at the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking, he checked in as four stars, No. 90 nationwide, No. 10 at wide receiver and No. 14 in Florida.

"Watkins has a mighty impressive list of suitors, and I assume some Syracuse football fans think the Orange is a long shot to win out in his recruiting process. Still, ‘Cuse coaches, led by Brown, are aiming high with their 2025 recruiting efforts, and I find that exciting."

Why Winston Watkins Jr. de-committed from Colorado football

Watkins snubbed CU Boulder for one simple reason: he doesn't know if Coach Prime is going to be at Colorado by the time the 2025 season rolls around.

“I didn’t want to limit the opportunities I already have because when you’re committed some schools try to not talk to you,” Watkins said (h/t USA Today). “I have a lot of schools I want to make sure I’m still good with them because I don’t know if Prime will still be there when I get there.”

By that token, Syracuse emerges as an intriguing possibility. Barring a 2022 TCU-esque turnaround driven by the transfer portal in 2024, the Orange look like a program that should have solid footing in 2025 when Watkins debuts in the collegiate ranks.

CU, though, has a lot of work to do to convince recruits that Coach Prime is a long-term fixture in Boulder as opposed to a chaperone of his sons Shedeur and Shilo as well as top 2022 recruit Travis Hunter.