Syracuse freshman tight end Ron Thompson will miss the 2012 season with a lower-body injury that required surgery, the athletic department announced on Monday.

Thompson, a four-star recruit out of Southfield High School in Michigan, was arguably the jewel of head coach Doug Marrone’s recruiting class and likely would have received playing time this season.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 256-pound Thompson caught 67 passes for 809 yards as a senior at Southfield, and he had scholarship offers from Michigan, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Indiana, Bowling Green and Toledo in addition to Syracuse, according to Rivals.com

Thompson has not practiced since the end of the preseason, but he will have four years of eligibility remaining due to his lack of participation in any of Syracuse’s (1-3) games this season.

So far, Beckett Wales holds the top tight end spot for SU in 2012, with David Stevens receiving playing time as well.Waleshas 13 catches for 112 yards on the season, while Stevens has just one catch for 5 yards.

Carl Cutler, a third option at tight end for Syracuse, has five catches for 32 yards.

Louie Addazio, Max Beaulieu and Josh Parris are the other three tight ends on SU’s roster, but none of them have caught a pass this season.