Top Transfer Portal wide receiver visiting Syracuse Football a perfect fit with Kyle McCord and Oronde Gadsden

Justus Ross-Simmons racked up over 700 receiving yards last fall for Colorado State, proving to be one of the most efficient weapons in the country. He posted the second most yards after catch per reception among all wide receivers in the nation last year (min. 50 targets). And finished just behind future NFL stars like Brock Bowers (TE, Georgia) and Tez Johnson (WR, Oregon) in yards after catch per target.

Ross-Simmons has already garnered offers and contacts from at least nine other FBS college football programs like USC, Washington, South Carolina, Michigan State, and more according to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports. He's clearly one of the most highly coveted transfers in the country right now.

It seems the Syracuse Orange may have an early leg up in the recruiting battle since Ross-Simmons is originally from Rochester, New York (just an hour and a half from Syracuse). However, if they want to close the deal on the top wide receiver in the portal right now they'll need to sell him on the fit with new transfer quarterback Kyle McCord and tight end Oronde Gadsden.

Despite some unnecessary criticism from last year's Ohio State fans, Kyle McCord was one of the most efficient passers in the country. He found consistent success all over the field, but specifically thrived in the short to intermediate middle more than anywhere, throwing 11 touchdowns and 74% completion rate in that range. That's the perfect fit for Ross-Simmons.

He may have lined up mostly at outside receiver last year, but Ross-Simmons caught more than a third of his receptions in the short to intermediate middle portion of the field, averaging nearly 11 yards after the catch there. Schematically he's the perfect fit for McCord. And with Oronde Gadsden garnering significant attention in the slot, pushing the seam vertically, that should free up all sorts of space underneath for Ross-Simmons to thrive.

But he isn't just a YAC and underneath guy though either. He can push downfield and win in contested situations too, as you can see in Cam Mellor's post below.

Syracuse and new head coach Fran Brown need to take advantage of this week's visit and close the deal with Justus Ross-Simmons. If he joins the Orange offense we could see them have their best passing attack in several years.

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