SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Tommy DeVito grew to expect the questions. He’s from New Jersey, and as his star rose -- and his recruiting stars grew -- he had plenty of interest from top programs across the country.

So when he’d inform folks in his hometown that he was going to play ball in Central New York for a losing program, the response was usually the same. Why would you go to Syracuse?

“All the negative stuff,” DeVito said. “You give them a few facts, but some people, it’s in one ear and out the other. My friends though, they can tell you exactly the reasons I’m going to Syracuse.”

The questions weren't crazy. The eighth-ranked pocket QB prospect in the country picking a school that’s won just 11 games in the past three seasons; a school that hasn’t won 10 games in a season since DeVito was old enough to hold a football? It makes no sense … until Dino Babers makes the sales pitch.

That’s Syracuse’s secret sauce now. Babers isn’t a miracle worker, to be sure. The Orange still pulled in one of the least regarded recruiting classes in the ACC, and after DeVito, there are no other blue-chip signees. But what Babers has sold to recruits and to fans is a vision for a brighter future and a blueprint that doesn’t take recruiting stars into consideration.

“A lot of people say they have a process to recruiting, but they don’t,” Babers said. “We know what we’re looking for, and when we see it, we don’t care whether six people have offered him or nobody has.”

Call it a “Moneyball” approach to recruiting at Syracuse. Babers isn’t going into Florida to steal recruits away from Florida State or Miami routinely. And even up north, Big Ten schools often get top billing for big names on the recruiting trail. DeVito is a huge win for the Orange, but he remains the exception, not the rule. So the key for Babers is having a system in place to find the right players that other schools haven’t noticed.

Take running back Markenzy Pierre. The Kissimmee, Florida, native was a three-star recruit, the No. 52 running back in the country, according to ESPN, and he had a grand total of one Power 5 offer. That came from Syracuse. Scouts saw the 220-pound back as a downhill runner without exceptional burst or lateral agility. Babers saw a kid who rushed for more than 5,000 yards in high school against strong competition, a back who would fit nicely in Syracuse’s offensive system.

Then there’s last year’s superstar receiver, Amba Etta-Tawo. He was a grad transfer from Maryland -- “Maryland didn’t even want him,” Babers said -- who arrived at Syracuse and instantly became one of the most productive players in the ACC. Babers sees that as evidence of what can happen when that diamond in the rough is polished up by the right coaching staff, and he’s using it as a blatant sales pitch to future grad transfers.

The secret formula, according to Babers, is a little tough to define, and he isn’t giving out any state secrets. But he looks at stats and size and strength and scouting and …

“You put all those things in the pot, and if the taste is right, you go on it,” Babers said.

As the 2018 recruiting cycle heats up, Babers said Syracuse’s system of analysis is gaining some fans around the country -- not just from recruits, but from competitors, too.

“We’re watched very closely,” Babers said. “It’s amazing how we’ve offered people [scholarships] in this recruiting cycle, and in 24 hours, neighboring schools are offering. Big Ten schools offering 24 hours later. People are watching us, and that’s flattering.”

OK, maybe all of this still sounds a little tough to believe. Maybe Syracuse is still a long way off from contending for a division title against the likes of FSU and Clemson. Maybe this is all a terrifically polished sales pitch from a coach who’s awfully good at giving those pitches. That’s the reaction DeVito got from a lot of people back in New Jersey, too.

But what if Babers is right? What if the Orange really are building something unique? What if DeVito is just the start, and four years from now, he can stand on the mountaintop and see that he built something special?

That’s the plan that brought him to Syracuse. That’s why he never considered going elsewhere.

“A hundred percent,” DeVito said. “And I told Coach Babers the day I committed, I’m giving you my word now. We’re an Italian family, and our word is our word. We don’t go back on it.”