sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Macaroni Day!
SU News
2015 MAC Football Non-Conference Previews: Syracuse (hustlebelt.com; Jimenez)
The Syracuse Orange had narrowly defeated FCS foe Villanova at home before heading into Mt. Pleasant last season. They blew out the Chippewas without Thomas Rawls and Titus Davis,and took a 2-0 record into the remainder of their schedule. The rest of the season didn't turn out so well for the Orange.
CMU would be Syracuse's largest win of the season, and the only one against a team with a winning record. The football program has been having some identity issues since head coach Doug Marrone left to coach the Buffalo Bills two seasons ago, resulting in the hurried hiring of Scott Schafer for the position.
The Orange are in a tight division with Florida State and Louisville at the top of the Atlantic, with middling stalwarts NC State, Boston College, and Clemson all vying for bowl spots during the season. Syracuse's only conference win came against fellow bottom-feeder Wake Forest. There have been a lot of PR snafus for the athletic department in recent months, what with the unretiring (but not really?) the famous number 44 that Jim Brown and other hall-of-fame running backs wore, and the departure (but not really?) of AD Dr. Daryl Gross,and HC Schafer will probably have to deal with hot seat rumors, as Syracuse was a bowl team two years ago.
On offense, the Orange return Terell Hunt at the quarterback position. In the 2014 match, Hunt had a field day in the game at Mt. Pleasant with 276 yards and three touchdowns. However, there are questions swirling around the skill positions, as two-thirds of last year's rushing yards have graduated, and their primary recievers are a true sophomore who is yet to be seen as a viable option in Steve Ishmael and special-teamer Alvin Cornelius. There is also the matter of whether or not Tim Lester's offense-- yes, the former Western Michigan QB and Bill Cubit disciple-- will mesh with his personnel. The Orange's main strength was in their offensive line, which held steady when healthy, allowing for running lanes and open looks in the passing game. They return six starters and 90 starts to the line this year, and if last season's performance was any indication, the Orange line should hold up just fine, barring injuries, as they were 49th in adjusted sack rate and 67th in adjusted line yards in 2014.
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Inside the Off-Season Conditioning Program for 2015 SU Signees (cusenation.com; Ferguson)
With the first snaps of training camp just weeks away, four “Fresh Oranges” are looking to ripen their skills both on and off the field this summer on campus. As these players step into the celebrated tradition and legacy of Syracuse football, they will marvel at the upgrades of the new athletic facilities and lace up their cleats on the turf of Ernie Davis Legends Field in the Carrier Dome.
Four of these “Fresh Oranges” are excited to represent ‘Cuse Nation are Evan Adams, Steven Clark, Qaadir Sheppard, and Amir Ealey.
Only weeks before pre-season begins and each of these incoming freshmen have kept busy since national signing day in February. The expectation is that each rookie member of the Orange is working out in a variety of programs that include weight lifting, strength development, quickness improvement, and agility drills. They are required to report back to the coaching staff on a weekly basis with their results.
“I speak with O-line Coach Adam weekly, and he keeps me on track,” Evan Adams said. “He is the main coach that I stay in touch with due to my position.”
“I have to report my bench press results and workouts to the strength and conditioning coaches on a weekly and monthly basis,” Steven Clark said. “And I communicate with Coach Daoust regarding specialized workouts for my position.”
In addition to the workout regimes, each player indicated that the incoming freshmen have all been communicating via text and social media. Often bragging out their workout scores. Steven Clark may have a little extra to brag about as he placed fourth in the state (Alabama) in the shot put during track season, and finished in first place for the bench, squat, and power clean (280 lbs) in the state championship weightlifting meet.
Both Clark and Amir Ealey are looking forward to the Physical Therapy program at SU.
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Getting to Know Your Orange Man - #59, OG Aaron Roberts (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
Name: Aaron Roberts
Position: Offensive Guard
Year: Freshman
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 285
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
High School: De La Salle Institute
2014 Stats: Roberts redshirted his freshman season on the hill.
2015 Projections: Roberts serves as an option to start on the offensive line in his redshirt freshman campaign. He'll bring a much needed tenacity and aggressiveness to the field.
How'd He Get Here: Roberts comes to Syracuse by way of Chicago, one of many on the Syracuse football roster.
What'd Recruiting Sites Say: The major recruiting sites listed Roberts as a three-star recruit.
Money Quote:
"I'm coming to play, and by the end of my career at Syracuse, whether I was a sleeper or not, people are going to know my name."
Links Of Wonder: Roberts first committed to the University of Syracusebefore coming to play in the Salt City.
Twitterfeed: D1_Roberts
Tweets Of Wonder: Commas are key.
What Does
"He's got a mentality that you can't teach, but he's got that mean streak, that fight to the whistle, that aggressiveness."
Interesting Nuggest O'Interest: Roberts is a big fan of Toronto singer/rapper, Drake.
Let's Get A Good Look Atcha: See Roberts' highlights courtesy of MaxPreps.
Son of Michael Irvin Spurns SU for UM (palmbeachpost.com; Porter)
It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Michael Irvin II would follow in his father’s footsteps and become a Hurricane.
Monday, the son of “The Playmaker” declared his intention to do so.
Irvin called UM coach Al Golden and committed, a program source said. A three-star prospect according to major recruiting websites, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Irvin plays wide receiver, H-back and tight end.
He chose UM over offers from Georgia, Syracuse and Michgan, but the Hurricanes were long his favorite option, much to dad’s delight.
“We had been talking about where and what I was going to do for a very long time. He knew what was coming,” Irvin told the Sun-Sentinel.
Irvin grew up in Texas and in January transferred to his father’s alma mater, Fort Lauderdale-St. Thomas Aquinas. In three seasons at Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian, Irvin caught 223 passes for 2,741 yards and 34 touchdowns. In one Sept. 2014 game he reportedly caught 21 passes, one shy of the state record.
His father, who lives in the Dallas area, is UM’s career leader in receiving touchdowns (26) and is third in yards (2,423) and receptions (143). In his Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys, he earned five Pro Bowl nods and three Super Bowl titles.
The elder Irvin has been a vocal supporter of Golden and the Hurricanes, defending the program on South Florida sports talk radio and remarking in February at the Super Bowl that fans angry over UM’s 6-7 season should “calm their asses down” and let Golden’s “process see itself through.”
UM now has 22 commits in its 2016 class, which is ranked third nationally by Rivals and fifth by 247Sports, and headlined by Irvin’s teammate, four-star wide receiver Sam Bruce, and four-star quarterback Jack Allison.
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Kansas State Lands St Louis RB Tre Bryant (kansas.com; Robinett)
Kansas State got some welcome news on the recruiting front Monday when Tre Bryant, a high school running back from St. Louis, orally committed to the Wildcats.
Bryant is a 5-foot-10, 198-pound prospect. Recruiting services have labeled him a three-star recruit, and Rivals ranks him as Missouri’s 14th best player in the 2016 class. He chose K-State over Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Syracuse, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and others.
He announced his decision on Twitter, writing, “After much deliberation I am excited to announce that will continue my career as a student athlete at Kansas State University!”
Bryant will add depth to K-State’s running backs corps as the Wildcats search for their next featured ball-carrier.
He is the fourth member of K-State’s 2016 recruiting class, joining quarterback Skylar Thompson, tight end Nick Lenners and receivers D.J. Render and Corey Sutton.
