Coach Speak: Ibn McDaniels

Syracuse football landed a commitment from Ibn McDaniels on Saturday, a class of 2024 defensive back out of Elizabeth High in New Jersey. However, he was a very under the radar prospect without a profile on some of the major recruiting services and without other power five offers. So what did the Orange see in the 6-3, 190 pound cornerback? We asked Elizabeth High defensive coordinator Henry Wilson to find out. 

"Ibn is a remarkable young man who possesses a strong competitive spirit," Wilson said. "He is highly receptive to coaching and displays a strong worth ethic in his craft on the field and classroom. As a cornerback, he demonstrates exceptional skills in man-to-man coverage with excellent ball skills. Additionally, he is an excellent tackler. He's physically gifted. At the Monmouth camp, he had a vertical of 39 inches and ran 4.40 (40-yard dash)."

When you watch him on film, you can see those physical gifts and skills. So that begs the question, why was his recruitment so quiet?

"A lot of schools haven't stopped by our school, since we have been here, to see our kids," Wilson said. "He only played 14 games in high school. He broke his collarbone junior year." 

While coach Wilson believes the biggest key for McDaniels to make an early impact at Syracuse is working on zone defense and overall zone awareness, he also believes McDaniels has the potential to be an NFL caliber player. 

"You might think I'm crazy, but I believe he has what it takes to make it to the NFL someday," Wilson said. "My head coach (John Fiore) will say the same thing. He has the prototypical size for a CB and is still developing. So he has the potential to improve significantly and coach Brown does a great job with DBs."