by By Donnie Webb Staff writer , The Post-Standard

Mario Tull of Xaverian High School in Brooklyn said Tuesday that he plans to play for the Syracuse University football team in 2010. Tull just completed his junior year at Xaverian and will sign with the Orange in February.

Tull said he is 6-foot-1, 205 pounds and projects to play strong safety or outside linebacker for the Orange. It's at linebacker where Syracuse has one of its greatest needs and if Tull puts on some weight, it's probably where he'll land.

Of the four high school juniors that have made early verbal commitments to play at Syracuse, two of them are from New York City. The other is quarterback John Kinder of Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst. A third commitment is from center/long snapper Macky MacPherson of Syracuse and Christian Brothers Academy.

Marrone, Syracuse's first-year head coach, has openly pointed his recruiting efforts at New York City and its surrounding area. Marrone is a native of the Bronx and is pushing to recruit more players from his hometown. Though he and his staff got a late start recruiting last winter because of the timing of the change in coaching staffs, three of the 14 players they signed in February are from the greater New York area -- Torian Phillips of Staten Island, Andrew Tiller of Nassau Community College and Zack Chibane of Paramus, N.J.

"They were the only school really interested in me," Tull said of Syracuse. "I didn't want to let an opportunity like that go to a waste. I wanted to hold onto it, which is why I committed."

Tull said he attended Syracuse's Junior Day earlier this year and plans to participate in Marrone's camp next week. Recently, he participated in a combine at Rutgers and said he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. Tull was recruited by Syracuse assistant coach John Anselmo, the former Nassau Community College head coach who now handles the Orange defensive backs.

"I'm willing to play anything," Tull said. "It's just a matter of time of being used to it. I've played a lot of positions. I'm up for the task. It doesn't matter to me.

"I'm an aggressive player. I like contact. I'm never scared. After the first hit, it's on from there."

Tull said he played wide receiver, linebacker and returned kicks last season at Xaverian. Next season, he said he's switching to cornerback in addition to playing wide receiver.

"After they saw my highlight tape, they said they thought I was an excellent player," Tull said.

Donnie Webb can be reached at 470-2149 or dwebb@Syracuse.com

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