Syracuse made a strong impression on 2028 West Orange (NJ) High lineman Samuel Furr IV, and the visit came at the right time.
Furr was back on campus over the weekend for Syracuse’s game against Cal, giving him his first real game-day look at the program after landing his first Power 4 offer from the Orange in June. The trip gave him a fuller sense of what Syracuse feels like when the building is live.
"It's was actually really good,” Furr said to The Juice Online. “Tough loss but I loved the atmosphere and it brought me closer to the school.”
One of the biggest takeaways for Furr came before kickoff, when he was able to spend time on the field during warm-ups. That moment stuck with him because of the way it reflected the program’s energy.
"I feel like with the music and getting hyped, just being together as one, I feel like that really showed me the tone that coach Fran set on a day-to-day basis,” Furr said. "I think very highly of Syracuse it's a great college great atmosphere great coaches great players. I just feel like they have something good going on over there.”
He also had a chance to speak with Fran Brown and Juan Castillo, and the message from Syracuse’s staff was straightforward.
“We all just talked about how I look good,” Furr said. “They said they like my size. They said they like how I slimmed up a little bit, added more muscle, and we all just talked about being ready for the game.”
Furr said the environment inside the JMA Wireless Dome stood out as well, especially the buildup that comes from watching both teams prepare.
"It was a great experience,” Furr said. “Definitely just being around the players and then seeing the opposing team get warmed up. Just seeing like the tension between both teams before the game, I feel like they're really hyped everything up.”
He’s still in the early stages of his recruitment and continues to hear from a range of schools, but Syracuse is clearly sitting near the top of the list for now.
“Right now Cuse is very high on my list, I'll say that,” Furr said. “But besides that everything's just trying to fall into place.”
On the field this fall, Furr is focused on letting his performance do the talking. His Mountaineers opened the season with a loss, then bounced back with two straight wins ahead of Friday’s matchup with Shabazz.
That one carries real weight, with Shabazz standing among the top teams in Essex County. Furr is embracing the chance to make a statement.
"I believe it's going to be a great game,” Furr said. "I can't wait to put on the show.
I feel like this is going to be one of my best games and I’m going to really stamp my name this game because they got a couple ranked stars players on the team. So it's time for me to finally get my name out there."
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Pitt is waiting next, and the matchup brings its own problems for Syracuse because the Panthers have controlled recent meetings. With the Orange already dealing with recent struggles and injuries, the challenge now is less about style points and more about showing they can clean up the mistakes that turned one close game into a damaging loss. [Read more 🡒]