PA lineman is 8th commit for Cuse

After weeks of indecision, Springfield (Pa.) Saint Joe's offensive guard Jim McKenzie confirmed he has committed to Syracuse. The 6-foot-4, 290-pounder chose the Orangemen over offers from Colorado, Toledo, Rutgers, Kentucky and West Virginia.

"First of all, one of the biggest things about them was the people there," he said. "I get to go into the first recruiting class for coach Robinson and they already have a good class coming in. I also know that they picked up the athletic director from USC and you can already see the improvements, I'm excited.

"I saw a lot of strong history at Syracuse as well. They have a museum with greats like Jim Brown, Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney and you actually see those guys come back and work out there. It shows a certain respect to be a part of that program."

Of course, the 4.0 GPA student couldn't overlook academics which was also a key in his decision.

"I went up there two weeks ago and the coach showed me players that were in my type of major like bioengineering or the medical field," he said. "The players had their act together and I saw that I could juggle courses and work hard in football and not lose anything in academics."

The coaches have told their eight commitment this season that he will have a good chance to see the field after redshirting his freshman year.

"Coach Robinson expects me to produce early," he said. "I hope to be a successful part of the program for three or four years."

McKenzie is looking at taking an official either for the West Virginia game at the beginning of the season or sometime in December. Either way the lineman plans to pay close attention to his new team this season.

"The best part of watching this team on a weekly basis this year is that they play tough teams," he said. "They play Notre Dame and Florida State. I want to watch them and see how they match up against teams of that caliber."

McKenzie is happy to have a decision behind him as he can now focus on Saint Joe's upcoming season.

"I feel great, I mean it's a lot less stress off my mind," he said. "It became a distraction for me and I was comfortable with it now, so I made a decision. Now it helps me focus all my attention on my team.

"I've got a lot of hard work ahead and I'm going to stick with my program at school. I've seen a lot of improvement in myself and my offensive line coach is a great guy that pushes me to excel. I'm looking to really get my strength up this year."