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Come Fan with UsSaturday, June 20, 2026

CFB Recruiting podcast: On Syracuse, exploiting inefficiencies, and Miami’s staying power

SB Nation’s Richard Johnson sat down with Syracuse coach Dino Babers. We spoke to him about that and other recruiting topics.

NCAA Football: Virginia Tech at Syracuse
NCAA Football: Virginia Tech at Syracuse
Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

The SB Nation College Football Recruiting Podcast returns with another episode. This week we are joined by SB Nation’s Richard Johnson, who traveled to Syracuse to produce an exclusive: Dino Babers is here to ‘strike fear into defensive coordinators’.

It’s an excellent piece, and Johnson was able to spend 90 minutes with the Syracuse head coach. We discuss the piece, and the recruiting background, because we don’t want to just repeat what is in the piece. The podcast is available here, and embedded below.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes.

Topics are listed roughly in the order that they appear in the show.

  • Babers’ time at Baylor.
  • The Syracuse head coach is a big fan of Broadway musicals and an even bigger fan of movies.
  • How Babers came to run his version of the offense.
  • What unique challenges and advantages does Syracuse present when paired with the offense Babers runs?
  • Market leaders v. market exploiters — figuring out what the elite programs around Syracuse value in recruiting, and seeing what the Orange can do to exploit the inefficiencies in that supply chain.
  • Syracuse can recruit with the ability to be the most pass-heavy team Northern team due to the climate-controlled dome.
  • What does a successful tenure look like for Dino Babers at Syracuse? Babers turns 56 in July.
  • The air-raid system has a history of having huge leaps forward in Year 2. But how will that balance with the lack of depth for Syracuse, and the brutal schedule that includes FSU, Clemson, LSU, Louisville, and Miami?
  • Syracuse could see recruiting benefits just by playing some elite schools tough.
  • The promise of QB recruit Tommy DeVito and the potential of 2019’s schedule.
  • What got cut from the piece that listeners should know about?

Can Miami sustain?

Johnson and I follow up on a topic from a previous week, does Miami have a legitimate shot to sign the No. 1 class in the country? The Hurricanes have the top spot right now. What will it take for Miami to have a shot to finish No. 1?

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