Three months before spring practice, Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson already has his first loss of the season. Mark Spinney, a top offensive lineman from New Hampshire, switched his commitment from Syracuse to Boston College last week. The switch happened just three weeks before National Letter of Intent Signing Day, when verbal commitments become official.

Recruits can sign letters of intent this year on Feb. 7.

While Spinney’s father, Steve, played for Syracuse, his grandfather played for Boston College. For years, Spinney said he and his father have attended Eagles’ home games. ‘It was an opportunity to play in front of friends and family close to home,’ Steve Spinney said. ‘That was really the driving force.’

BC is just 45 minutes from Spinney’s home, and had always been high on his list. Former Eagles coach Tom O’Brien looked at Mark Spinney, but never offered him a scholarship, Steve Spinney said. So Mark Spinney committed to the Orange.’I was completely happy with Syracuse,’ Mark Spinney said. ‘I had my heart going to Syracuse.’

When Jeff Jagodzinski took over at BC for O’Brien, who left for North Carolina State, he brought Delaware offensive line coach Jim Turner with him. Turner had recruited Spinney from the start.

‘Early on, I had an offer from (Delaware),’ Spinney said. ‘We spoke, and I told him I wanted to play 1-A, and he understood. He still tried to recruit me.’On his second day with the Eagles, Turner called, Spinney said. He admitted it was a tough call to take.

Bishop Guertin (N.H.) head coach Tony Johnson emphasized how unusual a situation Spinney was in after the coaching change at BC. Had O’Brien stayed at BC, Spinney would be going to Syracuse, Johnson said.’Mark never pursued Boston College,’ Johnson said. ‘When the regime changed, they came after him.’

While Johnson reminded Spinney of his commitment to Syracuse, he also told the senior to go where his heart was.’We went to a lot of games (at BC) just because we loved college football,’ Steve Spinney said. ‘He got a lot of exposure to it, and of course when you’re a kid, you grow up a fan. It’s something he always had an interest in.’

Both the Spinneys and Johnson commended Robinson for handling Spinney’s switch with class. It still made for a difficult phone call, Steve Spinney said.

‘It was a tough one,’ Spinney said. ‘It would’ve been a great place for Mark to go. I can’t say enough about Greg Robinson, but it really comes down to the fact that he can play close to home.’

Johnson believes it’s time for college football to get a second, earlier signing period. It would lock up players who commit earlier and prevent players from switching their commitments.

‘College football recruiting is a business,’ Johnson said. ‘A lot of times, even when these kids make a commitment, the other colleges don’t back off. That’s hard on a kid because he wants the whole thing ended.’

Spinney agreed. The lineman is hoping that he’s finally finished with recruiting.’I’ve tried to say the whole time I wanted to commit once and be done with it,’ Spinney said. ‘It’s nice to be liked and loved … (but) I’m honestly going to hold up my decision.’

Gronkowski goes to Arizona

SU took a second recruiting hit this month when Rob Gronkowski committed to Arizona.Gronkowski’s dad went to Syracuse, and liked the Orange best, Woodland Hills (Pa.) head coach George Novak said. With a brother at Maryland, Novak said the Terrapins could’ve been a front runner as well. Instead, the tight end went west.

‘A big part of it was probably the weather,’ Novak said. ‘Rob’s a different kind of kid. He’s not the normal traditionalist. He blazes his own trail.’Greg Robinson pegged tight ends as a key position to recruit during the season. Losing Gronkowski leaves Nick Provo as SU’s highest-rated tight end commitment so far. Provo, a Scout.com three-star prospect, is ranked 52nd in the country at his position by the Web site. Gronkowski is ranked third.

Novak said it was tough for Gronkowski to turn down Syracuse. The Orange was in the hunt right down to the end.

‘I talked to Rob during the process,’ Novak said. ‘They were ready to get it over with by the middle of January. They were ready to get it over with in December.’

Published on January 23, 2007 at 12:00 pm