4-Star OL Prospect Tyrone Sampson Commits to Syracuse

Center Tyrone Sampson, a 4-star prospect in the class of 2018, announced his commitment to Syracuse on Tuesday, adding a potential cornerstone interior line piece for the Orange.

He announced his commitment on Twitter:

"

100% COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE❕ pic.twitter.com/MiBDX6I7hM

— T. Sampson#⃣5⃣1⃣ (@TSamp_51) April 18, 2017"

Sampson chose Syracuse over other contenders such as Kentucky and Minnesota. Scout ranks the 6'3", 304-pounder as the No. 265 overall prospect and the No. 2 center in his class. He's the best at his position in Michigan and the Midwest region.

"When I go into camps or games, I just tell myself that I cannot lose this rep," Sampson said, per Branden Hunter of Rivals. "I look to dominate every guy I face and make sure that I am good with my technique. I am very physical, but I also use my feet well. Not many 300-pounders can move like I can. You don't even really need hands to play this position, just move your feet."

While Sampson said he grew up preferring baseball to football, he's become a promising prospect who drew offers from around the country, including Michigan and Michigan State.

Kentucky and Minnesota pushed hard early in the process, with 247Sports listing them as the two favorites around Feb. 1's national signing day.

"As I've grown into high school and started playing center more, I've grown to like offense way more than defense," Sampson said. "I enjoy tossing people around and taking them to the ground. Running backs like scoring long touchdowns. Linemen like driving people down the field and pancaking them. That's just what we enjoy."

Syracuse was able to swoop in and grab one of the nation's top offensive line prospects in next year's recruiting class. Head coach Dino Babers is still trying to turn around the program heading into his second season. 

The Orange have won a total of 11 games over the past three campaigns, missing out on bowl games since 2013. 

Recruiting in the ACC is a difficult task because elite programs like Florida State, Clemson and Miami land more talent. Babers' task is to steal some high-end recruits and build depth to challenge those teams on the field.

Sampson is the third prospect to commit to Syracuse so far in its 2018 class. The Orange rank 38th among all schools in the early rankings for next season.

Recruiting information courtesy of Scout unless otherwise noted.

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