David Hale ranked each team by position

[OrangeDW]

I'm with you. I'm just saying generally it's hard to believe we are better than clemson on the DL. They have recruited and developed so well there and been so dominant -- not just on a 'really good team' level but on a 'we're going to go beat alabama on the biggest stage of all' level -- and we've just been so far from that kind of talent for so long that I just struggle to believe it. It's just sort of the way, for lack of a better word, of college sports. Duke loses three lottery picks in college hoops but it's hard to feel like you're going to be 'better' than they are in the frontcourt or whatever ... even if you had some really solid kids coming back.

Having said that, I love our DL and if Clemson doesn't quite replace all those guys seamlessly I could see it make some sense.

Agree for the most part on Tommy too. Third-year player is huge, the system itself will help him and he's going to be surrounded by better players than Dungey ever was. So it feels like everything is in place. Just saying his overall numbers (50% completions, 4 TDs, 3 INTs, 6.0 yds/att) and even his numbers in one of the wins (11-16, 144 yds, 1 TD vs. FSU) weren't exactly eye-popping. Not knocking the kid, just saying I'm not 100% sure that he's a top QB in the ACC yet.

Again, I acknowledge I could be completely wrong.

Couple things on Tommy’s numbers...those FSU numbers were not in a full game. I forget when Eric went out, but I think it was the second quarter. I believe we were only up 7-6. We ran away with that game with Tommy in. We didn’t need him to air it out and take chances in that one. He just needed to be steady and mistake free, because FSU was going to collapse.

And I think his overall numbers are skewed because the game where he got to play the most was the ND game - he had very little chance there. I don’t think Eric’s passing numbers would’ve been pretty in that one either. His legs were our only shot(and that was a small one too).

 

[Cusefan69]

I like our d-backs allot and it will be fun to see if they can spring board off of last year. I think their rank is fair. L-backers will be interesting to watch. I think they have some growing pains early but morph into a solid group by seasons end. D-line ends strong. interior solid but not deep. O-line will be strong on run but pass protection is a big question mark. As one poster mentioned though there is experience. Backs and receiver strong. Starting QB high upside, will deal with some adversity, hopefully stays healthy and upright. Concerned a bit about depth. The rankings all feel fair and could be plus/minus 1 slot. Looking forward to a really fun season!

 

[billsin01]

Couple things on Tommy’s numbers...those FSU numbers were not in a full game. I forget when Eric went out, but I think it was the second quarter. I believe we were only up 7-6. We ran away with that game with Tommy in. We didn’t need him to air it out and take chances in that one. He just needed to be steady and mistake free, because FSU was going to collapse.

And I think his overall numbers are skewed because the game where he got to play the most was the ND game - he had very little chance there. I don’t think Eric’s passing numbers would’ve been pretty in that one either. His legs were our only shot(and that was a small one too).

Agreed on all counts. If I had to guess our offense will be excellent and tommy will be very good. Just don't know that I've seen enough yet to feel like our QB situation is a top-4 ACC situation. It very well could be and I understand why people are excited. Just worry we might be expecting a little too much.

 

[OrangeDW]

Obviously Dungey’s running was an enormous weapon for the offense. Will improved RB talent lead to a more effective traditional running game + Devito’s better accuracy and zip on the short stuff lead to the YAC that will offset that?

I say yes, but coming off 10-3 I’m an optimist.

 

[All4SU]

Agree on DL -- hard to believe we are actually better there than Clemson. Am I the only one who has a couple questions on QB? Just if you figure we'll need to use two (b/c almost everyone has to use two these days for injury reasons) and because I know we're all very high on Tommy's potential but we haven't seen a ton of production yet. Don't know -- hope I"m wrong and I absolutely could be, but I'm just not entirely in head first on tommy as of yet.

I’m sure our DL is only ranked ahead of Clemson because they lost their entire unit to the NFL. This year, they will roll out a new unit of NFL caliber talent. But that’s okay, we’ve made huge progress in a short period of time.

 

[KaiserUEO]

One could argue some are too high, others too low, but at the end of the day...Cuse will still come out as 2nd best.

8-4 is a disappointment, because that likely means 4-4 in the ACC.

10-2

 

[RF2044]

For those that are worried about our O-Line, ... I suggest finding other things to worry about. We're going to be fine, plus we have solid/strong depth there in case (when?) injuries hit.

Only six P5 teams have more starting experience than our Orangemen, and none of those reside in the Atlantic Coast Conference. You read that right. See the full chart below:

Check out this chart:

2019 Career Starts Offensive Line. – Phil Steele

philsteele.com

That's great -- but I take it with a grain of salt until we see it play out, as we lost several key components [including our 2 starting OTs]. I'm more confident about the line's interior, where I think we have depth / talent to spare. But tackles concern me [have heard good things about Alexander, though].

I like what Dino and staff are doing with OL -- I feel like we're another recruiting class or two until this positional unit is humming, with quality talent throughout the pipeline. Haven't quite "arrived" though.

 

[Trueblue25]

Oh man i gotta draft up the 2019/2020 Cali Awards Predictions soon.

 

[upperdeck]

ND game was full of mistakes.. we dropped 2 TD passes and also had a few Ints that were caused by drops..

 

[SUskibum]

I guarantee you the parent of every player/position group on this list thinks they're underrated. That's part of being a parent.

I think he’s underrated (by the media and by this site)

I don’t think I’m related, maybe my in-laws are though?

Care taker, any Romano’s in your family? I mean they’ve only been here a generation and mostly stayed to staten island but I figure I’d ask haha

 

[texascpa]

If our DB's, including an All-American, are rated that low, either the other teams are really stocked or the rest of our DB's are really pulling Cisco down.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Agree for the most part on Tommy too. Third-year player is huge, the system itself will help him and he's going to be surrounded by better players than Dungey ever was. So it feels like everything is in place. Just saying his overall numbers (50% completions, 4 TDs, 3 INTs, 6.0 yds/att) and even his numbers in one of the wins (11-16, 144 yds, 1 TD vs. FSU) weren't exactly eye-popping. Not knocking the kid, just saying I'm not 100% sure that he's a top QB in the ACC yet.

Again, I acknowledge I could be completely wrong.

TD has great potential to excel if the supporting cast steps up and the running game takes pressure off him. But if he has to frequently leave the pocket and ad lib then I fear some fans will be moaning that we don't have Dungey bailing us out. Cuse's best top 25 teams in the last 30 years have relied on a quarterback that can make plays with his feet because we never have the NFL lines to match up with Clemsons of the world. Granted, Dino's system is an X-factor and we'll see where this goes.

 

[gbo]

Agree on DL -- hard to believe we are actually better there than Clemson. Am I the only one who has a couple questions on QB? Just if you figure we'll need to use two (b/c almost everyone has to use two these days for injury reasons) and because I know we're all very high on Tommy's potential but we haven't seen a ton of production yet. Don't know -- hope I"m wrong and I absolutely could be, but I'm just not entirely in head first on tommy as of yet.

Three seniors back on the line push Cuse to the front. I'd have have Clemson first if we are talking about depth. Our defense is being slept on a little this year.

 

[SU94]

That's great -- but I take it with a grain of salt until we see it play out, as we lost several key components [including our 2 starting OTs]. I'm more confident about the line's interior, where I think we have depth / talent to spare. But tackles concern me [have heard good things about Alexander, though].

I like what Dino and staff are doing with OL -- I feel like we're another recruiting class or two until this positional unit is humming, with quality talent throughout the pipeline. Haven't quite "arrived" though.

No belief without evidence? Dino would be very disappointed .

 

[care taker]

I think he’s underrated (by the media and by this site)

I don’t think I’m related, maybe my in-laws are though?

Care taker, any Romano’s in your family? I mean they’ve only been here a generation and mostly stayed to staten island but I figure I’d ask haha

Actaully my brother in law married a Romano very common Italian name . Opinions don't bother me, especially when the story will play out soon enough. I know what I have under the hood

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Wait, this is confusing for me. Do I need to see David Hale in Hell?

 

[StopCoolio]

What a difference a year makes...

ESPN's David Hale ranked how he has ACC schools talent by position.

He explains on rankings. Here Looking at the composite we have a talent problem that Dino is cleaning up. He wasn't left depth. Last year's Seniors Ish/Irv/Zaire/Bennett were really huge. It is good our QB/OL are trending up. However our biggest problem has been talent on defense. Dino...

syracusefan.com

 

[orangeinohio]

Wait, this is confusing for me. Do I need to see David Hale in Hell?

You need to respect his decisions.

 

[SU in Hershey]

Wait, this is confusing for me. Do I need to see David Hale in Hell?

Well, there's no love lost

 

[shu 49]

This is awesome and my only objection is with the DB's for we should be higher than eighth.

We should be top two at dB without question. I will take our top six guys against anyone at anytime. We have a lot of future NFL ers back there without a doubt.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I've been trying for hours to shoehorn a joke in about how our #1 ranked DL is evidence of the collective dedication to S&C, but it's just not coming together.

 

[SoBristol]

No surprise, coming off 10-3, we get a lot of glow from the 2018 season. Last pre-season, just the opposite.

We may have some raw talent in the OL, but with injuries in the Spring (Heckel, Pat Davis), and two transfers working in (Alexander for sure; maybe Tisdale), it is hard to say how it will all come together in August. Wont' be a lot of time to build the cohesion you want. Unlike last year, when we had 4 veterans in place, and added a solid 5th year in Martin who had P5 starting experience.

Also wonder about our receivers. They should be good, but #3 is a lofty placement. Still, rather be getting the buzz than what we had in past years.