Devante McFarlane arched his neck and gazed up at nearly 50,000 empty seats.

Standing by the locker room entrance before Friday’s 3 p.m. practice, he turned his head right, and then left, exploring the Carrier Dome stands.

The senior running back at Half Hollow Hills West High School and incoming freshman at Syracuse envisioned the stadium filled with fans. And soon that vision will become a reality.

‘It’s amazing,’ McFarlane said. ‘The Carrier Dome, it’s crazy.

‘I’ve seen it packed before. I’ve been to a couple games, and just knowing it’s going to be my home, it’s just a blessing.’

But before McFarlane becomes a member of the Orange, he has one final high school game: the Upstate-Downstate Football Classic. The third annual high school all-star game between the best high school players from upstate and downstate New York will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Carrier Dome, and McFarlane is one of three future SU players participating.

McFarlane, offensive lineman Omari Palmer and safety Wayne Morgan will all suit up for the downstate team, which looks for its third consecutive victory.

Heading into his third day of practice, McFarlane said the experience has been a special one. Intense at times, but relaxed and enjoyable nonetheless.

‘We have the kids that want to have fun, and then we have the competitors,’ McFarlane said. ‘I’m a little bit of both. I don’t like losing so I guess I’m more of a competitor, but I like to have fun too. I’m not all about just straight competing.’

Palmer called it ‘the best of both worlds.’ But soon that world will shift from high school to college.

Palmer, McFarlane and Morgan have already discussed how special it is for them to go through that transition together in the Dome on Sunday. McFarlane smirked when asked about their futures and called SU a good fit.

At SU, he will join a deep running back corps that has no determined starter. Prince-Tyson Gulley, Adonis Ameen-Moore and Jerome Smith are expected to vie for carries entering training camp.

Morgan, ranked the 11^th-best safety nationwide by ESPN, will look to bolster an SU secondary that unraveled down the stretch of last season.

And Palmer – a monstrous 6-foot-3, 330-pound Class AA all-state selection from Longwood High School – will start at right tackle on Sunday, but could play either guard or tackle at SU. With the right side of last year’s starting line lost to graduation, he could be needed to make an immediate effect.

That’s an opportunity Palmer said he would cherish.

‘Just to play college football,’ Palmer said. ‘To play against the best, the top players in the Big East and eventually the ACC, just to come to college, to continue my education and to meet new people, and just to, to grow.’

But there’s still one more game before Palmer, McFarlane and Morgan join the collegiate ranks. On Sunday afternoon, the Carrier Dome will open its gates and fans will file in, but likely to just the lower level.

For the three future members of the Orange, the crowds will only grow.

‘It’s exciting to come in here, to look at the dome and to see the immense space, the area and how big it is,’ Palmer said, ‘and to imagine it packed with fans for a big game.’

sebail01@syr.edu

Published on June 9, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1