Orangeyes Daily Articles for Monday for Football

[sutomcat]

Welcome to National Fortune Cookie Day!

Get Your Fortune Here

SU News

2015 SU Football Preseason Depth Chart (PS; Mink)

OFFENSE

No. Name Height Weight Class

Quarterback
10 Terrel Hunt 6-3 234 rSr.
5 Austin Wilson 6-3 214 rSo.
4 AJ Long 6-0 177 So.
2 Eric Dungey 6-4 195 Fr.
6 Kenterius Womack 6-3 185 Fr.
16 Zack Mahoney 6-2 201 So.

Running back
29 Devante McFarlane 6-0 193 rJr.
27 George Morris II 6-0 190 rJr.
18 Dontae Strickland 5-11 180 Fr.
22 Jordan Fredericks 5-10 205 Fr.

Hybrid back
3 Ervin Philips 5-11 179 So.
84 Ben Lewis 6-2 208 rJr.
1 Ashton Broyld 6-3 221 Sr.
26 Tyrone Perkins 6-0 175 Fr.

Wide receiver
8 Steve Ishmael 6-2 184 So.
83 Sean Avant 5-10 201 rSo.
86 Adly Enoicy 6-5 227 rFr.
7 Troy Green 6-1 180 rJr.

Wide receiver
82 Alvin Cornelius 6-1 192 rJr.
9 Brisly Estime 5-9 176 Jr.
17 Jamal Custis 6-5 222 So.

Tight end
89 Josh Parris 6-4 244 rJr.
90 Cameron MacPherson 6-4 236 rJr.
80 Tyler Provo 6-2 223 rSo.
11 Trey Dunkelberger 6-5 235 rSo.
46 PJ Batten 6-3 239 rSo.
42 Jacob Green 6-1 254 rJr.

Left tackle
72 Ivan Foy 6-5 276 rSr.
67 Michael Lasker 6-5 306 Sr.
75 Denzel Ward 6-8 331 rFr.
60 Cody Conway 6-6 275 Fr.
76 Keaton Darney 6-3 266 rFr.

Left guard
68 Nick Robinson 6-6 279 rSr.
71 Alex Hayes 6-2 303 rSo.
61 Sam Clausman 6-3 315 Fr.
79 Taylor Hindy 6-4 309 rJr.

Center
55 Rob Trudo 6-4 307 rSr.
78 Jason Emerich 6-3 286 rJr.
77 Kendall Moore 6-5 239 Jr.
58 Donnie Foster 6-3 312 rFr.
62 Andrejas Duerig 6-4 280 Fr.

Right guard
59 Aaron Roberts 6-4 266 rFr.
74 Seamus Shanley 6-1 276 rJr.
63 Evan Adams 6-6 285 Fr.

Right tackle
57 Omari Palmer 6-3 323 rJr.
65 Jamar McGloster 6-7 310 rSo.
73 Jon Burton 6-8 307 rSo.
64 Colin Byrne 6-5 300 Fr.
...

SU Verbal QB Rex Culpepper Tears ACL; Father Expects Him Back in Time for Spring Football at Syracuse (PS; Bailey)

Syracuse quarterback commit Rex Culpepper tore his ACL and will miss his senior season at Plant (Tampa, Fla.) High School, his father, Brad Culpepper, told Syracuse.com. Corey Bender of At their request, this network is being blocked from this site. first reported the injury.

Culpepper, who pledged to the Orange in June, will undergo surgery on Tuesday and is expected to be ready to compete during SU's spring practice this January as an early enrollee, his father said.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Culpepper is rated three stars and the 25th-best pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports.com's composite rankings. He received early offers from Florida, Clemson and Ohio State, and ultimately chose the Orangeafter visiting campus and developing a strong relationship with offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tim Lester.

Culpepper threw for 2,016 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior. He is teammates and close friends with Plant defensive back commit Scoop Bradshaw.

The season-ending injury comes just two weeks after Lester detailed a high school knee injury that shifted his college dreams. The sunny side, for Culpepper, is that his injury came after he committed.

Syracuse has six quarterbacks currently on roster in redshirt senior Terrel Hunt, sophomore AJ Long, redshirt sophomore Austin Wilson, true freshmen Eric Dungey and Kenterius Womack and sophomore walk-on Zack Mahoney. Culpepper is the only signal caller committed to SU's 2016 class.
...

It's Official: Greg Robinson Loses Half His Wins at Syracuse. Career Record Falls to 5-37 (PS; Mink)

Half of Greg Robinson's career victories were vacated in the newly released Syracuse football media guide, typical protocol after the NCAA levied penalties against the school earlier this year.

For those keeping score at home, that means five of the former coach's wins over his four seasons on the sideline are wiped from the record book.

His record is now reflected as 5-37, a winning percentage of .119.

Six of former coach Paul Pasqualoni's victories were also vacated as part of the sanctions issued on the heels of a lengthy NCAA investigation into the men's basketball and football programs.

Pasqualoni's NCAA-recognized record now stands at 101-59-1, a .630 winning percentage, which remains the program's highest mark since World War II.
...

Five Things to Watch for at ACC Media Days (richmond.com; Bitter)

Move over, SEC. Take your glitz and glam, formal ballroom setting and round-the-clock coverage of media days and make room for the laid-back stylings of the ACC.

It’s a golf outing disguised as a media opportunity at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. Casual attire is recommended. Please, no ties.

Want to interview a player or coach? Just mosey on up to a table, grab a seat and ask away. No need for formality. Microphones and a dais aren’t necessary, except for the commissioner.

But rest assured, though, that in between the food and golf, there’ll be some football discussed. It’s the ACC’s turn to grab some national attention with its quick two-day media event Monday and Tuesday, an appetizer to whet your football appetite, since players don’t report to practice for a few weeks.

What’ll be discussed? Here are five storylines for the next few days:

1. Will Florida State and Georgia Tech be picked to repeat as division champs?

The ‘Noles and Jackets certainly can make a case to be considered the favorites in their respective divisions, although they’ll have challengers.

Clemson needs to reload on defense, particularly the front seven, but has all the offensive pieces necessary, including quarterback Deshaun Watson, to perhaps eclipse Florida State as the favorites in the Atlantic Division. The Seminoles, after all, lost quarterback Jameis Winston and a host of offensive linemen to the NFL Draft.

The Coastal might not be nearly as muddled as last year, what with Georgia Tech bringing back quite a bit from a team that won 11 games last year and finished in the top 10 of the polls. But the Yellow Jackets have a tough schedule, catching both Florida State and Clemson as crossover opponents.
...

 

[CuseLegacy]

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...eelers-to-go-from-rags-to-riches-shamarko-tho

2015 Pittsburgh Steelers to go from 'Rags to Riches': Shamarko Thomas

The replacing of a superstar isn't always easy.

Jenilee Harrison and Priscilla Barnes couldn't quite fill Suzanne Somers' short-shorts after her controversial departure from the upstairs apartment on Three's Company.

1985's New Coke was met with such anger from consumers, it only lasted three months on the market until Old Coke had to come out of retirement and rebrand itself Classic Coke. Confusing.

Cliff Stoudt and Mark Malone combined instead of Terry Bradshaw is too painful to type about.

How about Kirstie Alley replacing Shelly Long on Cheers. That was a complete disas...Whoa! Hold on a second. Alley as Rebecca Howe matched Long as an Emmy-winner and stayed on the epic sitcom a year longer. This one worked out well, leading me to ask...

Why not Shamarko Thomas?

There's no denying the footprint left on the Heinz Field turf of Troy Polamalu. In the annals of Steeler history, No. 43 earned legendary status in his 12 campaigns. He is projected to be enshrined as one of the all-time greats ever to play the game in Canton and was the heart and soul of two Super Bowl champs in the late-2000's. But how deep will the void be? And is the right successor right under our collective Steeler Nation noses in the form of a third-year safety from Syracuse.


Polamalu's Tazmanian Devil style and his kamikaze approach was something special. But there's no denying that it led the defense to live-by-the sword and die-by-the-sword. It also led to a quicker decline in production because of the wear-and-tear on Troy's body. The Steelers thought that it was time. Theodora Polamalu, Troy's wife, hoped that it was time. Presumably, Troy reluctantly conceded that it was time. Shamarko Thomas sat and bided his time.

Many believe that the success of the Pittsburgh defense may be the critical factor in the Steelers raising the Lombardi trophy for a record seventh-time. Because of that, there could be a tight correlation between the emergence of Shamarko Thomas and obtaining the ultimate prize. In the next few paragraphs, I will identify the qualities possessed by Thomas that could, in 2015, elevate him from rags to riches.

1) The guy is a heat-seeking missile

Some guys are apprehensive to hit, Shamarko Thomas relishes the chance to torpedo himself into an opposing ball handler, much like his predecessor. A bone crushing wallop last year against Carolina led to a fumble and a key touchdown return.

Coming out of Syracuse, scouts identified Thomas as a tough safety with a linebacker's mentality. After his selection in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, defensive backs coach Carnell Lake relayed his theory that two more inches probably would have propelled Shamarko into the first round. But despite his height, he plays with a scrappy aggressiveness and is not afraid to mix it up.

His first two seasons, No. 29 has not only shown ability to run downhill and put a jarring hit on running backs, but has displayed the coverage speed to stay with slot receivers downfield. If he could get his hands on and keep his hands on more balls thrown in his zone, Thomas has blue collar, Pro Bowl potential.

So far, the Shark has made his name on special teams employing these talents and now gets a chance to showcase them every week as a starter and add on to his 34 career tackles.

2) There's a major sense of urgency

When you're 19 and you lose both of your parents within nine months of each other, it's devastating. When that same scenario becomes a reality and you find yourself the oldest of six children, you have to grow up immediately and take the reigns of the family. Shamarko did just that.

Before his sophomore season in 2010, his father, Abdul Shabazz, was killed when a driver swerved out of his lane and struck his motorcycle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Nine months later, Ebeth Shabazz died in her sleep due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Devastated, he thought he would fall apart. But he called upon his faith and recalled a conversation weeks earlier that set him in motion.

According to SI.com, During an April 2011 phone call, Shabazz explained that her oldest son was her "chosen one" and if anything were to happen to her, he was to try his hardest and take care of his family. Shamarko, in turn, promised that he would make it and take care of his entire family. Weeks later, she was gone and Shamarko Thomas, a college sophomore football player, was responsible for four brothers and a sister, ages 8 to 17, back in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Thomas considered leaving early after a solid junior season for the NFL, but he wisely waited to ensure that he was completely prepared for the challenge.

A few months ago at an autograph signing event in Virginia, I personally witnessed Thomas with a few of his brothers. It was encouraging to see how paternally nurturing a 24 year-old could be. Recently married, Thomas is further fulfilling that promise to take care of his entire family.

Not only does Thomas and his family have a lot riding on his NFL success, his football family does too. Fearing that he would not last until they're pick in the fourth round, the Steelers surrendered a valuable 2014 third round pick for the opportunity to draft Thomas. Basically, the Shark cost two picks to bring to Heinz Field. But the team was able to hasten Polamalu's retirement due to their belief in the potential of the former Orangemen player.

3) Conditioning is key

The buzz on Shamarko Thomas is that he works out like a mad man. It's been reported that besides James Harrison, no one spends more time in the team gym than the third-year safety. His workout habits are exceptional and will need to continue to propel him to the next level. The worry about this guy is that he has a tendency to be on the shelf due to injury, missing seven games in two seasons.

However, he has a fantastic work ethic that was inspired by his mother. She would drill into Shamarko that to be great, he would have to outwork the competition. That advice has surely stuck with him.

4) He's learned from the best and is paying it forward

Troy Polamalu took the young Shamarko under his wing early and has been teaching him the ways of the force. In the offseason last year, Thomas trained with Polamalu in Southern California and learned a lot more than just football from Troy, much in the way a young padawan would learn from Yoda in the swamps of Dagobah. The Syracuse alum went to the veteran safety and told him that he wanted to be great. Polamalu explained that being great is not what kind of football player a person is, it's what kind of man a person can be.

The mentorship and the work ethic that was shared out west and in the locker room last year is not only designed to be apparent on the gridiron, but in the locker room too. It is very rare to have an unestablished third-year player helping to groom a rookie at his same position. But that is precisely what Thomas is doing with Gerrod Holliman, a rookie SS from Louisville. Holliman was an award winning defensive back in college and had a nation-leading 14 interceptions in '14. But the knock on Holliman is that he is reticent to hit. Thomas has been coaching him up and could be a big factor in his making the team.

Thomas' mentoring of the rookie could cost him his spot, but the unselfish team-first attitude is refreshing and the attribute of a true leader. That's what any championship team needs. I couldn't think of a better candidate to root for.

Ability, positive attitude and a dedication to his family and team. All of this is why in 2014, Shamarko Thomas will rise from...rags to riches.

 

[FAL]

Shamarko--still ShamWow! Probably always will be.

 

[RF2044]

Shamarko--still ShamWow! Probably always will be.

I don't think I've ever rooted for a former Syracuse player to get drafted / be successful at the NFL level than Shamarko. Love that kid.

 

[jekelish]

 

[CuseLegacy]

 

[CuseLegacy]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]