SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 34,513
- Like
- 67,192
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Seniors: Chris Slayton 6-4 309; Juniors: Brandon Berry 6-4 251; Kendall Coleman 6-3 266; Shaq Grosvenor 6-2 286; Jake Pickard 6-5 251; Alton Robinson 6-4 249; Kenneth Ruff 6-1 296; McKinley Williams 6-4 296; Sophomores: Josh Black 6-3-272; Chris Elmore 6-0 282; Kingsley Jonathan 6-3 256; Freshmen: Curtis Harper 6-2 312; Zach Morton 6-4 243; Caleb Okechukwu 6-4 240
If we have a really good season, Chris Slayton could get some consideration for the Outland Trophy, which goes to the nation’s best lineman. If we don’t do really well, that won’t happen but Slayton will be just as good. Syracuse.com: “He can squat over 700 pounds and has the lateral quickness to chase down runners on the edge (just ask Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant). This offseason, the soft-spoken Chicago product has started to develop into more of a vocal leader.” Nunes: “Slayton is going to be looked at to be the leader of the defense for the Syracuse Orange. He’s coming into the year as the team’s active leader tackle for loss, sacks and forced fumbles.” Babers: "I don't even call Slayton by his name anymore," Babers said. "Slayton is just three-technique, (tackle). That's the position he plays, and he plays the position like a grown man, in a grown man's league….He is the key to what we do on defense," Babers said. "He's going to be a professional football player. He's going to graduate with a Syracuse degree, and he's going to be a professional football player. That's what Chris Slayton is going to be. He's outstanding."
Syracuse.com: “Sophomore McKinley Williams was only a true freshman last season and is continuing to develop and grow into a frame that could one day be just as intimidating as Slayton on the interior of the defensive line.” Williams is our other tackle. "Bear" has grown from a promising young player into a reliable force in the trenches. He passed Kayton Samuels midway through last season to emerge as an every-down caliber player. This fall, with opponents' game planning emphasis likely being on Slayton and the edge rushers, the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Williams should see plenty of opportunities.” What happened to Samuels is a concern- but it could be a good sign. He was one of several defensive players who have left Syracuse since last season, apparently suggested to do so by the coaching staff. My fear is that a team that has trouble getting through the season needs all the experienced depth it can get. The counter-argument was that is a sign that we are upgrading the caliber of players on the roster and these guys who are leaving have been “recruited over” and will be replaced by superior players. I hope that’s true.
The ends are Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson and both are very good. Coleman was nicked up last year by foot and shoulder injuries and spent the spring healing up. Coleman had been the promising freshman in 2016. “And at 6 feet, 2 inches and 262 pounds, he's far more ready for the ACC than he was when he started 11 games as a true freshman in 2016” Robinson was acquired just before last season in part due to the injury to Coleman and now they are a pair. “Robinson paced the SU defense with five sacks. Now with an entire offseason to prepare for the 2019 season and a capable pass-rusher lined up on the other side, it will be interesting to see how the 6-foot-4, 249-pound Robinson produces this fall.” Coleman on Robinson: "What impressed me was regardless of all of that, he went out there and he played his heart out. The kid is mad athletic, and he got after it and he was showing us stuff that nobody else on our D-Line can do right now, and so he brings a different dynamic to our D-Line and his athletic abilities and the way he's able to play the quarterback and the running back. "He's twitchy. He moves really well out there."
Those four Clemson guys are great, (and ubiquitous in the magazine rack), but the SU front four figures to be pretty darn good in their own right this season. They total 64 starts and 26 other appearances. And, even without Samuels, there’s depth here beyond what we’ve seen in a while. The players below have totaled 15 starts and 62 other appearances.
Brandon Berry saw a lot of action at end last year and looked pretty good. “Berry flashed during preseason camp with his speed. However, matching that burst with the strength to move ACC offensive linemen will be the key to him earning regular reps behind Robinson and Coleman. At 6 feet, 4 inches and 251 pounds -- he's up 19 from last season -- Berry has the potential to be an effective pass rusher.” Coleman, who did a lot of observing in the spring and thus had a lot to say, said Berry “has long arms that enable him to avoid being locked up by linemen and maintain leverage on the edge”.
Kingsley Jonathan is not Jonathan Kingsley as his name has been presented in some publications. “Jonathan, a sophomore, is a strong player, who, "if he wants to move you, he'll move you," Coleman said, and Ellis brings quickness off the edge.”
Kenneth Ruff “has bounced around the Orange defense since arriving as a middle linebacker two springs ago, but he's unlikely to outgrow his current position at defensive tackle. The 6-foot-1, 296-pound junior has filled in as a reserve the last two years, totaling 16 tackles, but could be in line for an increased snap share.”
Josh Black is “another third-year player who was injured last fall, Black spent the spring completing his transition from end to tackle. While he's listed at 6 feet, 3 inches and 272 pounds, Black said in April that he was weighing in closer to 290 pounds. He hopes to put last year's nagging knee injury behind him and establish himself as a consistent contributor in the middle. "I'm pretty comfortable with where I'm at right now," Black said in the spring. "I'm stronger than I've ever been and I can still move. "Football players who can still move after all their injuries are at a premium.
Then there’s Chris Elmore, a wide-body at 6-0 282 who came in with a reputation as a 100% football player who lived to play the game. He wears long dreadlocks and always stands out on the field. He was used more on offense as a blocking back and occasional short yardage guy ala Refrigerator Perry. He didn’t seem to be all that effective in that role, talking too long to get to the line of scrimmage. He was also listed as a tight end but never caught a pass and is not so listed this year. He played on the kickoff return and placekicking teams. I think is future is as a run stuffer on defense. He’s listed behind Williams on the depth chart.
Jake Pickard was thought to be a blue-chip recruit when he came here but knee injuries have slowed his career badly. Last year he played briefly only in the dismal last game against Boston College. He had an operation that will sideline him for at least the beginning of the 2018 season. Maybe someday…
Shaq Grosvenor is a junior who came in last year as a JUCO transfer. “The defensive tackle was brought in with the expectation of taking some time to see the field… Grosvenor made his Syracuse Orange debut versus Central Connecticut State and appeared in the Central Michigan game. He snagged a tackle in the latter contest. Shaq was injured a bunch for the rest of the season, unfortunately.”
Curtis Harper and Zach Morton are red shirt freshmen. Harper was a three star recruit and rated as high as the #88 defensive tackle in the country coming out of high school, (there are 80 Power-Five teams so that’s 160 spots). At 6-3 312, he is hard to ignore but is “on the outside looking in at the rotation at this point. Morton was also a three star guy. “The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Morton developed physically during his first year on campus. We'll get our best look yet at the rangy pass-rusher during fall camp. His athleticism is clear, but does he have the strength yet to take on ACC tackles?” Caleb Okechukwu is a true freshman. “A National Signing Day recruiting win, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Okechukwu chose the Orange over other finalists Texas and Arkansas. A product of St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C., Okechukwu saw his recruitment heat up following a senior season in which he logged 80 tackles, including 38 for loss, and 15 sacks."I felt the love from Texas, I felt the love from Arkansas," Okechukwu said, "but there was more from Syracuse. I was a top priority for them and they made that known." Late update: Morton had knee surgery on August 15 and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.
More from Coleman: "We have to lead up front. The defense is going to go where we go, so if we get out front and start attacking heavy at the beginning of a game or the beginning of practice, the rest of the defense is going to follow if we start playing aggressive."
LINEBACKERS
Seniors: Ryan Guthrie 6-2 224; Kielan Whitner 6-0 215; Juniors: Andrew Armstrong 6-2 228, Shyheim Cullen 6-2 224: Lakiem Williams 6-0 234; Sophomores: Nadarius Fagan 6-1 213; Zack Lesko 6-0 219: Tim Walton 6-2 232; Freshmen: Tre Allison 6-2 230; Terrell Bennett 6-2 215; Tyrell Richards 6-4 227; Kadeem Trotter 6-2 206; Juan Wallace 6-2 215; Jake Wright 6-1 195
Last year’s starting linebacker unit was the heart and soul of the defense. They hung in there against nationally ranked team after nationally ranked team, holding things together as we lost to LSU by 9, to NC State by 8, beat Pitt and Clemson by 3 each and lost to Miami by 8 and Florida State by 3. A huge factor was that we were really good on third down and could get off the field and get the ball back to the offense. That’s on the linebackers more than anyone else. We had Zaire Franklin, a starter – and captain- since his freshman year, Parris Bennett, who came on late in his career to become Franklin’s equal. “Those two combined for 411 tackles during the first two years of the Dino Babers era, or 25.2 percent of the entire team's tackle total.” (Syracuse.com). The third man was the undersized but quick Jonathan Thomas, who started the last 16 games at his positon. All are gone. So is Austin Valdez, a grad transfer who was the leading back-up and another frequently used reserve, Troy Henderson.
The situation is so bad that the pre-season depth chart didn’t have a traditional 4-3-4 set up. Instead they had 4 linemen, only 2 linebackers and 5 defensive backs. And one of the starting linebackers is to be Kielan Whitner, a converted defensive back. That almost makes it a 4-1-6. That could be great for covering passing attacks or the option game. But it could come up short- way short- against a power running team and we will be playing a few of them.
When I first started watching college football games on TV in the early 60’s, I remember seeing Bear Bryant’s Alabama teams. In those days, they were known for having a lot of light, quick, defenders who were famous for flying to the ball and gang tackling. Bryant accentuated the idea by appointing the whole starting line-up team captains so the two guys from the other team would be outnumbered at mid field for the opening coin flip. That and their aggressive style of play made the other team feel outnumbered the whole game.
I don’t know that we need a gimmick like that but we will need to be that kind of team- one that swarms to the ball and over-whelms the other team with numbers, rather than one that depends on a few stars to make the plays.
The two seniors, Ryan Guthrie and Kielan Whitner, are the listed starters. Guthrie was a JUCO transfer who played in 12 games last year and made the sack that clinched the Pittsburgh win. Nunes: “At Ellsworth Community College, he was an expert at getting behind the line of scrimmage (25.5 tackles for loss in 2016), and that skill will probably be used a bit differently with SU. Expect him to be utilized in coverage given the traditional role of MLBs in the Tampa-2, but Guthrie will be applying pressure just the same. Expect big tackle numbers (at least 80), and enough TFLs and sacks to disrupt opposing passing games a bit.” Whitner is most known for a painful interference penalty as a freshman that was a turning point in our loss at South Florida. He’s now one of our more experienced defenders, having played in 32 games, 5 of which he started. Almost all of those appearances were as a D-back. Nunes: “After bouncing around positions these past few years, Whitner is now Syracuse’s starting strongside linebacker. That may seem strange at first, but the fact that he’s a reformed defensive back might actually help this year’s unit fit the Tampa-2 even more than the previous group. Linebackers need to be able to play in coverage in this system, and Whitner fills that need.” Syracuse.com: “His coverage ability plays into defensive coordinator Brian Ward's tendencies. How his 6-foot, 215-pound frame holds up in the box is more of a question.”
The immediate back-ups are Andrew Armstrong and Shyheim Cullen. Armstrong was Bennett’s back-up and will be behind Guthrie, (but all such designations are up in the air at this point). Syracuse.com: “He’s known for his versatility, having practiced at all three linebacker spots during his first two years on campus, and is expected to vie for consistent playing time this year.” He’s played in all 24 games of his first two years here and recorded 29 tackles. Cullen “has been a difference maker on special teams”. Most of his 23 appearances have been in that capacity but he has been exceptional, often the first one to make contact on punt and kickoff returns. As a member of the punt coverage team, helped the Orange rank first in the ACC and fourth nationally in punt return yardage defense (2.67 avg.). “ (Cuse.com)
Actually, we’ve got plenty of players listed as linebackers on the roster- 14. But of the ten others 6 are true freshmen or redshirt freshmen and have never played a game at this level. The four who have are Nadarius Fagan, Zack Lesko, Tim Walton and Lakiem Williams. Fagan was a three star recruit rated the 38th best outside linebacker by ESPN. He played four games last year on the kickoff team. Syracuse.com: “A sophomore who played sparingly last season, Fagan wasn't mentioned much this spring. At 6 feet, 1 inch and 213 pounds, the Miami native has intriguing coverage skills, but may lack the bulk to hold up in the box.” We won’t see Lesko this year. He’s a transfer from Chattanooga who must sit this year out. Walton is probably our biggest linebacker at 6-3 230. He played as a back-up defensive end last year and got into the ‘Central’ games: Connecticut and Michigan. He was considered a three star recruit. Williams, like Lesko has never played here. He’s a JUCO transfer from Butte College, the same place we got Clayton Welch from. Cuse.com: “Reserve linebacker who could make an immediate impact on special teams. Second on the team with 63 tackles in 11 games, including 3.5 for a loss, and one interception.” He had 124 tackles in two years there.” Syracuse.com: “An apparent knee injury sidelined him for most of the spring, sapping him of valuable practice reps, but he still has a chance to work his way up the ladder during camp.” Williams is already a hit in the weight room.
cusefb_strength on Twitter
The future of the linebacker positon may lie with the freshmen, (I’m seeing only one LB so far in our 2019 commits). We’d better get used to their names. They are: Tre Allison, Terrell Bennett, Tyrell Richards, Kadeem Trotter, Juan Wallace and Jake Wright.
Allison has good size at 6-2, 230. He’s a three star true freshman out of Tyler, Texas, the same town that gave the sport Earl Campbell. EASPN has him as the #32 outside linebacker in his class. Cuse.com “Logged 275 tackles, nine pass breakups, five interceptions, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in his career.” Syracuse.com: “more physically equipped than most first-year players.” Nunes: “seems likely to redshirt (though he’s certainly the right size to jump in right away).” His name’s Tre, so he must be a good player. They all seem to be.
Bennett is a walk-on who, per Nunes, “hopes to earn a scholarship in his sophomore year.” He’s unmentioned by Syracuse.com or any scouting services and has no bio on his Cuse.com page. His high school coach says: “He’s not some kid that I would ever doubt. Terrell is like one of the hardest working kids ... He believes he can get through anything.”
Richards is the better Tyrell. He’s big at 6-4 227. He’s from Canada, where we’ve gotten some good players over the years. He redshirted last year but “impressed on the scout team”, per Syracuse.com “He has the frame to play in the ACC. How he learns from opportunities early in preseason camp, and then his first batch of live reps during the season, will go a long way toward determining his role this season.” Nunes: “The 247Sports composite rankings said three stars, and he was one of the five best players out of Canada for 2017. Not too shabby.”
Trotter is another redshirt freshman with a defensive back’s physique at 6-2 206 and is a “plus coverage player” per Syracuse.com. 247sports gave him 3 stars and rated him the 92nd best safety in his class. He’s supposed to have a lot of raw talent and might have been rated higher except he tore his MCL during his senior year in high school.
Wallace was the most highly recruited linebacker in this class. Georgia, Kentucky, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Maryland and Rutgers wanted him badly but he was here for the Clemson upset and decided this was the place for him. He was rated 3 stars like so many others but one of the top 40 inside linebackers in the country. At 6-2 215, SU would like to redshirt him while he builds himself up a little more. He was a high school teammate of freshman receiver Ed Hendrix at IMG Academy, from where a lot of top college players come.
Wright is an undersized (6-1, 195), freshman walk-on who will probably redshirt.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Seniors: Antwan Cordy 5-8 177; Tyrone Perkins 6-0 206; Juniors: Scoop Bradshaw 5-11 181; Evan Foster 6-0 223; Christopher Fredrick 5-11 194; DuWayne Johnson 6-3 180; Carl Jones 6-1 193; Sean Onwualu 6-1 191; Sophomores: Devon Clarke 6-3 193: Kyle Strickland 6-0 181; Allen Stritzinger 6-0 190; Freshmen: AJ Calabro 5-0 180; Andre Cisco 6-0 199; Eric Coley 6-2 183; Cam Jonas 6-1 209; Ifeatu Melifonwu 6-3 200; Kevin Nusdeo 6-1 198; John Sweetwood 6-0 170; Trill Williams 6-2 202
This unit is similar to the offensive line in many ways. You could argue that they, other than the QB, are the two most important units of the team. The line, if it’s good will allow you to run plays as they were diagramed on the blackboard: running backs don’t get hit until they are beyond the line of scrimmage and they do the hitting: the quarterback can give the receivers time to get open and then choose among them. You can sustain and finish drives and give the defense plenty of territory to defend. The defensive backfield, if good, can cut off the big plays that have killed us in recent years. They can also help the front seven make big plays by forcing the QB to hold on to the ball. The late, great Chris Gedney had a habit when doing our color commentary of sighing or grunting when a play developed that was obviously going to be big trouble for us. Unfortunately, we’ll never hear that again but fortunately there should be significantly fewer times when we would have heard it. A good defensive backfield will also make more big plays, especially if the line can pressure the QB. We need more scores from our defense and special teams and we might get more of them this year, especially from the defense.
Both units have had to deal with many injuries the last couple of years. The silver lining of that is that there are a lot of experienced players on the roster, giving us a level of depth and competition we haven’t seen in a while. On top of that, Babers and his staff have made these units recruiting priority and there are a lot of talented players available, even with the players that have been switched to linebacker.
The preseason depth chart has Antwan Cordy, Scoop Bradshaw, Andre Cisco, Evan Foster and Chris Fredrick as the starters but they will be pushed by some players who could turn out to be as good or better. Cordy may be the best all-round football player on the roster but his last two years have been almost tragic. As a sophomore he was second on the team in tackles as a strong safety and set an SU record for tackles for a loss by a defensive back with 12. He was only 5-8 177 but hit like a linebacker and was our best over man as well. Then in the second game of the 2016 season, he broke an arm and missed the rest of the season. He was granted a medical redshirt so last season was his do-over as a junior …and he broke his ankle early in the first game and was again out for the season.
Syracuse.com: “Cordy was forced back into the training room and rehabilitation process that took over his third year on campus. And the recovery grind this time around took a toll on his mental health. "I went through a bad depression, bad depression," Cordy said Friday, "and I questioned God, like, 'Why me?' The redshirt senior struggled to find the motivation that once drove him to work out early in the morning and late at night. Finding the energy to go to the training room for hours of rehab was difficult.
He turned the corner when his girlfriend, SU softball player and Liverpool native Alicia Hansen, recommended he seek counseling. He began speaking with a counselor inside the school's Stevenson Educational Center and found peace with his situation. "Ever since then, I just don't think about it anymore," Cordy said of his ankle. "I just go forward. My cut came back. My backpedal, my speed came back. It's just all natural now."
There was a thought of switching Cordy to offense to get in the mix at wide receiver. He’s also listed among our kick returners. It was thought perhaps there would be less contact there and he could avoid injury for his senior years. But on the depth chart, he’s listed as the starting ‘nickel’ back, (the fifth D-back in the 4-2-5). I suspect that, by his hard hitting, competitive nature, that that’s the best place for him.
Bradshaw and Fredrick will be the starting corners. Bradshaw started 11 games last year. Cuse.com: “Recorded 21 tackles on the season, including 5.5 for a loss, one sack and recovered a fumble ... Led the team with six pass breakups.” Syracuse.com: “…and scooped up a blocked extra point for a long two-point conversion against Wake Forest.” He missed one game after injuring his arm against Clemson. “And remember, while essentially playing with one arm late last season, becoming an easy target for opposing coordinators, he still got the nod over other cornerbacks on the roster.” Fredrick started all 12 games last year and “Recorded 43 tackles (31 solo) and tied for second on the Orange with five passes defended (4 pass breakups, 1 INT) ... Had multiple tackles in every game and at least four tackles in eight contests.” (Cuse.com) Nunes: “During the early-season improved period for this defense, he was a critical part of the resurgent coverage ability on the outside.”
Nunes: “Like last year, a lot will depend on safety play. When Jordan Martin was healthy, it gave SU corners more piece of mind on help over the top. Transitioning to a 4-2-5 could provide an assist, but Syracuse still has inexperience at the safety spot right now.” Foster is a linebacker-sized safety at 6-0 223. (The designations may be misleading this season.) He started all 12 games at strong safety per Cuse.com, (actually I think Cordy started there that first game but he went out almost immediately). “(He) was third on the team and first among defensive backs with 64 tackles, including 48 solo stops ... Tied for second on the team with five passes defended, including four pass breakups and one interception ... Also forced a fumble ... Seven 5+ tackle games.” Nunes: “Foster will be counted on to have a bigger impact in terms of creating turnovers and limiting big plays.”
The inexperience comes from freshman Andre Cisco. Fredrick: "He's kind of not like the average freshman. He seems like a vet. He's always in the film room. He's out here working early before practice, doing extra things." Cordy: "It feels like he's been here already. He was in the playbook quick. I feel like he knew everything already. Usually, it takes freshmen a minute to know things, but he's right on it." He was another 3 star recruit and was rated the 52nd best safety in his high school class. He’s still another IMG graduate. Nunes: “He’ll be a big part of protecting SU from getting beat over the top, as they have been in recent years.”
The guy he beat out, (or, more likely, is nose-to-nose with), is sophomore Devon Clarke. He was a “consistent 3 star recruit” from Florida, (whose 3 stars are like 4 stars elsewhere). He redshirted in 2016 and was ‘ineligible to play for undisclosed reasons last year”. Reports are the reasons were “an arrest and subsequent suspension for his role in an on-campus burglary”. (Nunes) “I would expect the two to share plenty of snaps, or for Clarke to earn at least some real solid minutes this year. He had a very strong showing in the spring and should have helped himself out during the session.”
These last two seasons when Cordy was out, he was replaced primarily by the somewhat similar Daivon Ellison, who is also 5-8 177 and also hits like a linebacker. The difference was that Cordy was a better cover guy. It won’t be Ellison who would replace Cordy this year because he’s gone and so are safety Rodney Williams, and cornerbacks Cordell Hudson and Juwan Dowells, all grad transfers. All started some games and saw action in many others. I found it alarming that we lost no less than four players with experience in one unit that could have come back for another year. As with Kayton Samuels, the DT who left, other posters have reassured me that those guys had been recruited over and will be replaced by younger players who are more talented and meet the measurables, (size and speed) that Babers needs to compete in the ACC. I hope they are right – and I think they might be.
Eric Coley is the stepson of Baber’s defensive tackles coach, Vinson Reynolds, who had a role in putting together that Western Michigan team that went to the Cotton Bowl before he was hired by Babers. When that family moved here, Eric enrolled at Fayetteville-Manlius high schools and showed a degree of athletic and football prowess that we haven’t seen around here in a long time. As a running back, he put up amazing numbers. As a senior, rushed for 1,295 yards on 129 carries (10.0!) and 17 touchdowns … Averaged 215.8 yards rushing per game … Five 100-yard rushing games and three 200-yard rushing efforts, including 405 yards and five TDs in -M’s 59-39 victory over Henninger … In his first game at the Carrier Dome versus Gates-Chili, ran for 218 yards and scored three touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving) to earn Express Mart Kick-Off Classic MVP honors … Defensively, registered 70 tackles, including eight for a loss, five sacks and one fumble recovery for the Hornets.” Cuse.com. naturally, he was a three star recruit. If you go to Syracuse you’re going to be a three star, not a four or five star. He redshirted last year. He’s got good size for at 6-2 183 and blazing speed. Both Syracuse.com and Nunes see him on special teams for now. I hope he gets a chance to return some kicks.
Eric in action: The Closing
Ifeatu Melifonwu is basically the same player as Coley except he didn’t play around here, (Massachusetts) and his name is seemingly unpronounceable. (But not althogether: Eh-FAH-too Mel-eh-FON-wu). He also redshirted last year. Cuse.com: “As a senior captain, rushed for 1,876 yards and 25 touchdowns, while intercepting two passes on defense … Ran for 237 yards and two scores in Grafton’s state semifinal win against Taconic … Tied the school single-game record with six rushing touchdowns versus Quabbin … Also played basketball, lacrosse and ran track.” ‘Quabbin”? Syracuse.com: “There's a lot to like out of the redshirt freshman, who is the younger brother of the Oakland Raiders freakishly athletic defensive back, Obi Melifonfu. Iffy has the physical traits every college program covets in its cornerbacks. He's still young with plenty of room to further develop physically, but for now he brings depth to a position in a way that should excite SU fans.” Nunes: “He’s already moved up to a second-string cornerback spot behind Chris Fredrick, after originally committing to the Syracuse Orange as a safety. Melifonwu could conceivably play either role — but in any case, he’s a rising name on the roster and among the first players to likely get a look if any starters are adjusted among the DBs.” He’s 6-3 200 and fast. Naturally he’s 3 stars.
Eh-FAH-too in action: Senior Highlights
The most heralded SU recruit in this last class is Trill Williams, another big, fast DB (6-2, 202) who can also make things happen with the ball in his hands. He’s so good he got four stars from 247sports, who rated him the #7 “athlete” in his class. Cuse.com: “As a senior captain, made 46 tackles and had 19 passes defended, including five interceptions, to lead the Crusaders to a 10-2 record and the 2017 CHSAA Class AAA state title … Offensively, recorded 534 yards (317 rushing, 217 receiving) and 11 touchdowns from scrimmage … Also returned seven punts for 138 yards (19.7 avg.)”. Nunes: Like Melifonwu, Trill’s pretty big at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, but he just got to campus and there are experienced options in front of him. Still, he’s already on the two-deep despite only arriving this summer and Julian thinks he’s already covering really well for a freshman. That’s new for us, but what you expect from a four-star recruit. He could see time this year.” Trill’s full name is “Atrilleon Williams”. He may mention that at contract time in the bigs.
Trill the Thrill: Sav6ix Senior year Mix ®
I can’t wait to see these guys in action and I want SU to find ways to get the ball in their hands.
Carl Jones has played 23 games in two years, mostly on special teams. He’s competing with Trill Williams for the back-up spot to Scoop Bradshaw. Carl was a three star in his own right when recruited back in 2015. This is his big chance but he has to fight off Williams to get much playing time.
DuWayne Johnson, (no, not “The Rock”, who played in the Dome with Miami in the famous 1992 game), I JUCO transfer who started his career at Virginia Tech. he decided to come to Syracuse because he wanted to play in a “Tampa 2” system and liked the fact that the coaches are asking for tighter coverage this this year. He’s another CB with good size (6-3 180) and speed, the kind of guy we need to cover ACC receivers. Syracuse.com: “Rated three stars and the No. 8 JUCO corner this cycle by 247Sports.com's composite rankings, he was also offered by Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa State, among other programs.”
Four years ago, we recruited three tailbacks: Jordan Fredericks, Dontae Strickland and Tyrone Perkins. I remembered looking at their films and having a hard time deciding who would have the better career. Fredericks was the biggest talent but something happened between him and the new coaching staff and he’s gone. Strickland now shares the TB job with Neal. Perkins, in three years, has carried the ball 9 times for 23 yards and caught two passes for 14 yards. He hasn’t scored. He’s played a lot on special teams. Now he’s been switched to defensive back and isn’t on the two-deep. It happens.
Allen Stritzinger was another three star recruit rated the #41 “athlete”, (meaning he could play on offense, defense or special teams) in his high school class and #49 as a safety. Last year he was on the depth chart as a tailback but played on the kickoff return team for 9 games. He’s now been switched to the defensive backfield. Nunes: “Stritzinger could figure into nickel and dime package rotations in non-conference play. If he does well there, he could be playing more regularly during conference play on defense along with his special team duties.”
John Sweetwood is a freshman walk-on and is unlikely to see action this year. AJ Calabro is a “preferred walk-on” but he probably won’t see action either, a likely redshirt. So is Kevin Nusdeo. Nunes: “it would take quite a few injuries to scholarship defensive backs to hear Nusdeo’s number called at safety or corner.” Kyle Strickland was a walk-on two years ago. He’s seen action on the kick-off return team in six games. Sean Onwualu walked on last year. Nunes: “He joined the Syracuse Orange in January 2017 as a walk-on. He actually started his Syracuse academic career in Strasbourg, France and worked as an analyst for Citrus TV before joining the team. Perhaps he can also help with Syracuse’s Quebec recruiting efforts.” If you started you SU academic career in Strasbourg France, you probably aren’t going to see much action on the football field.
KICKERS
Seniors: Juniors: Sterling Hofrichter 5-9 197; Sophomores: Nolan Cooney6-3 202; Freshmen: Cory Smigel 5-8 144; Andre Szmyt 6-1 195
Sterling Hofrichter is the big name here: he’s been our punter for two years and has been an excellent one, (unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of years in recent times when our punter was probably MVP and he was close to it). He’s an averaged sized guy (5-9, 183)) with a well-above average leg. He also has multiple techniques. He can boom the ball in the conventional fashion, place it in tight circumstances or roll out and kick it rugby style to avoid a rush. When he does that he often kicks a low line-drive away from the returners which can roll a long ways, (he averaged 43.2 yards per punt. He also did some kicking off and kicked 2 of 3 field goals when Cole Murphy was hurt. Now he’s going to take over all three duties, something we haven’t tried in years. Hofrichter is the type who could make it work.
In case he doesn’t, we have three other kickers. Nolan Cooney is also practicing kick-offs and may take over that job to ease Hofrichter’s burden. He was “rated the top prospect at the Ray Guy Prokicker.com 2014 regional combine in Boston.” Andre Syzmt (pronounced “Schmitt”) was “rated four stars by Kohl’s Kicking Midwest Winter Showcase”. Corey Schmigl ”averaged 37.1 yards per punt, made 5-of-7 field goals, and hit 17-of-18 PATs in his final scholastic season”. Cooney also does the holding for the place-kicks. I don’t know why we don’t have a back-up quarterback do that so he can make a play out of bad snap.
KICK RETURNERS
Seniors: Antwan Cordy 5-8 177 Juniors: Shyheim Cullen 6-0 224; Sean Riley 5-8 158: Sophomores: none Freshmen: none
Those are the three guys listed as kickoff or punt returners on the pre-season two deep but I suspect other players could get into the mix before the season starts. Sean Riley is the primary guy. He’s the slippery type and has squirted through the opposition for the occasional big return, (he has 66 and 64 yard kick-off returns), but he’s never scored a touchdown for Syracuse. He doesn’t have great flat-out speed and he’s so small, (5-8 158) that, while he can break ankles, he has a hard time breaking tackles. It would be nice to have a threat to go all the way, as was his predecessor, Brisly Estime.
Cordy and Cullen are odd choices here. Cordy has been a career defensive back and never returned a kick for us. Cullen is a linebacker who has played special teams as a “gunner” but did return one kick-off for 13 yards. He was a running back as well as a defensive player in high school and had 1400 career rushing yards with 20 touchdowns. They are both good athletes capable of doing this kind of work. But I want to see guys like Coley, Melifonwu, Williams and some of the Johnsons from the receiver corps get a shot at this. I hope the coaching staff doesn’t, as some past staffs have done, regard kicks as just an exchange of possession, where all we want it to possess the ball. That’s essential but kick returns and blocks are opportunities for big plays and we need them.
Overall, the roster looks pretty good to me, except for the total lack of experience at the linebacker position. We seem to be a bigger, stronger, faster, more talented team that is more capable of competing in the Atlantic Division of the ACC – and do it for 12 games. But the teams we will be playing have plenty of 3 star recruits and also some 4 and 5 star recruits mixed in. They have their own exciting clips of high school highlights and gaudy stats. They have no reason to fear us. But that may to our advantage.
Seniors: Chris Slayton 6-4 309; Juniors: Brandon Berry 6-4 251; Kendall Coleman 6-3 266; Shaq Grosvenor 6-2 286; Jake Pickard 6-5 251; Alton Robinson 6-4 249; Kenneth Ruff 6-1 296; McKinley Williams 6-4 296; Sophomores: Josh Black 6-3-272; Chris Elmore 6-0 282; Kingsley Jonathan 6-3 256; Freshmen: Curtis Harper 6-2 312; Zach Morton 6-4 243; Caleb Okechukwu 6-4 240
If we have a really good season, Chris Slayton could get some consideration for the Outland Trophy, which goes to the nation’s best lineman. If we don’t do really well, that won’t happen but Slayton will be just as good. Syracuse.com: “He can squat over 700 pounds and has the lateral quickness to chase down runners on the edge (just ask Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant). This offseason, the soft-spoken Chicago product has started to develop into more of a vocal leader.” Nunes: “Slayton is going to be looked at to be the leader of the defense for the Syracuse Orange. He’s coming into the year as the team’s active leader tackle for loss, sacks and forced fumbles.” Babers: "I don't even call Slayton by his name anymore," Babers said. "Slayton is just three-technique, (tackle). That's the position he plays, and he plays the position like a grown man, in a grown man's league….He is the key to what we do on defense," Babers said. "He's going to be a professional football player. He's going to graduate with a Syracuse degree, and he's going to be a professional football player. That's what Chris Slayton is going to be. He's outstanding."
Syracuse.com: “Sophomore McKinley Williams was only a true freshman last season and is continuing to develop and grow into a frame that could one day be just as intimidating as Slayton on the interior of the defensive line.” Williams is our other tackle. "Bear" has grown from a promising young player into a reliable force in the trenches. He passed Kayton Samuels midway through last season to emerge as an every-down caliber player. This fall, with opponents' game planning emphasis likely being on Slayton and the edge rushers, the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Williams should see plenty of opportunities.” What happened to Samuels is a concern- but it could be a good sign. He was one of several defensive players who have left Syracuse since last season, apparently suggested to do so by the coaching staff. My fear is that a team that has trouble getting through the season needs all the experienced depth it can get. The counter-argument was that is a sign that we are upgrading the caliber of players on the roster and these guys who are leaving have been “recruited over” and will be replaced by superior players. I hope that’s true.
The ends are Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson and both are very good. Coleman was nicked up last year by foot and shoulder injuries and spent the spring healing up. Coleman had been the promising freshman in 2016. “And at 6 feet, 2 inches and 262 pounds, he's far more ready for the ACC than he was when he started 11 games as a true freshman in 2016” Robinson was acquired just before last season in part due to the injury to Coleman and now they are a pair. “Robinson paced the SU defense with five sacks. Now with an entire offseason to prepare for the 2019 season and a capable pass-rusher lined up on the other side, it will be interesting to see how the 6-foot-4, 249-pound Robinson produces this fall.” Coleman on Robinson: "What impressed me was regardless of all of that, he went out there and he played his heart out. The kid is mad athletic, and he got after it and he was showing us stuff that nobody else on our D-Line can do right now, and so he brings a different dynamic to our D-Line and his athletic abilities and the way he's able to play the quarterback and the running back. "He's twitchy. He moves really well out there."
Those four Clemson guys are great, (and ubiquitous in the magazine rack), but the SU front four figures to be pretty darn good in their own right this season. They total 64 starts and 26 other appearances. And, even without Samuels, there’s depth here beyond what we’ve seen in a while. The players below have totaled 15 starts and 62 other appearances.
Brandon Berry saw a lot of action at end last year and looked pretty good. “Berry flashed during preseason camp with his speed. However, matching that burst with the strength to move ACC offensive linemen will be the key to him earning regular reps behind Robinson and Coleman. At 6 feet, 4 inches and 251 pounds -- he's up 19 from last season -- Berry has the potential to be an effective pass rusher.” Coleman, who did a lot of observing in the spring and thus had a lot to say, said Berry “has long arms that enable him to avoid being locked up by linemen and maintain leverage on the edge”.
Kingsley Jonathan is not Jonathan Kingsley as his name has been presented in some publications. “Jonathan, a sophomore, is a strong player, who, "if he wants to move you, he'll move you," Coleman said, and Ellis brings quickness off the edge.”
Kenneth Ruff “has bounced around the Orange defense since arriving as a middle linebacker two springs ago, but he's unlikely to outgrow his current position at defensive tackle. The 6-foot-1, 296-pound junior has filled in as a reserve the last two years, totaling 16 tackles, but could be in line for an increased snap share.”
Josh Black is “another third-year player who was injured last fall, Black spent the spring completing his transition from end to tackle. While he's listed at 6 feet, 3 inches and 272 pounds, Black said in April that he was weighing in closer to 290 pounds. He hopes to put last year's nagging knee injury behind him and establish himself as a consistent contributor in the middle. "I'm pretty comfortable with where I'm at right now," Black said in the spring. "I'm stronger than I've ever been and I can still move. "Football players who can still move after all their injuries are at a premium.
Then there’s Chris Elmore, a wide-body at 6-0 282 who came in with a reputation as a 100% football player who lived to play the game. He wears long dreadlocks and always stands out on the field. He was used more on offense as a blocking back and occasional short yardage guy ala Refrigerator Perry. He didn’t seem to be all that effective in that role, talking too long to get to the line of scrimmage. He was also listed as a tight end but never caught a pass and is not so listed this year. He played on the kickoff return and placekicking teams. I think is future is as a run stuffer on defense. He’s listed behind Williams on the depth chart.
Jake Pickard was thought to be a blue-chip recruit when he came here but knee injuries have slowed his career badly. Last year he played briefly only in the dismal last game against Boston College. He had an operation that will sideline him for at least the beginning of the 2018 season. Maybe someday…
Shaq Grosvenor is a junior who came in last year as a JUCO transfer. “The defensive tackle was brought in with the expectation of taking some time to see the field… Grosvenor made his Syracuse Orange debut versus Central Connecticut State and appeared in the Central Michigan game. He snagged a tackle in the latter contest. Shaq was injured a bunch for the rest of the season, unfortunately.”
Curtis Harper and Zach Morton are red shirt freshmen. Harper was a three star recruit and rated as high as the #88 defensive tackle in the country coming out of high school, (there are 80 Power-Five teams so that’s 160 spots). At 6-3 312, he is hard to ignore but is “on the outside looking in at the rotation at this point. Morton was also a three star guy. “The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Morton developed physically during his first year on campus. We'll get our best look yet at the rangy pass-rusher during fall camp. His athleticism is clear, but does he have the strength yet to take on ACC tackles?” Caleb Okechukwu is a true freshman. “A National Signing Day recruiting win, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Okechukwu chose the Orange over other finalists Texas and Arkansas. A product of St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C., Okechukwu saw his recruitment heat up following a senior season in which he logged 80 tackles, including 38 for loss, and 15 sacks."I felt the love from Texas, I felt the love from Arkansas," Okechukwu said, "but there was more from Syracuse. I was a top priority for them and they made that known." Late update: Morton had knee surgery on August 15 and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.
More from Coleman: "We have to lead up front. The defense is going to go where we go, so if we get out front and start attacking heavy at the beginning of a game or the beginning of practice, the rest of the defense is going to follow if we start playing aggressive."
LINEBACKERS
Seniors: Ryan Guthrie 6-2 224; Kielan Whitner 6-0 215; Juniors: Andrew Armstrong 6-2 228, Shyheim Cullen 6-2 224: Lakiem Williams 6-0 234; Sophomores: Nadarius Fagan 6-1 213; Zack Lesko 6-0 219: Tim Walton 6-2 232; Freshmen: Tre Allison 6-2 230; Terrell Bennett 6-2 215; Tyrell Richards 6-4 227; Kadeem Trotter 6-2 206; Juan Wallace 6-2 215; Jake Wright 6-1 195
Last year’s starting linebacker unit was the heart and soul of the defense. They hung in there against nationally ranked team after nationally ranked team, holding things together as we lost to LSU by 9, to NC State by 8, beat Pitt and Clemson by 3 each and lost to Miami by 8 and Florida State by 3. A huge factor was that we were really good on third down and could get off the field and get the ball back to the offense. That’s on the linebackers more than anyone else. We had Zaire Franklin, a starter – and captain- since his freshman year, Parris Bennett, who came on late in his career to become Franklin’s equal. “Those two combined for 411 tackles during the first two years of the Dino Babers era, or 25.2 percent of the entire team's tackle total.” (Syracuse.com). The third man was the undersized but quick Jonathan Thomas, who started the last 16 games at his positon. All are gone. So is Austin Valdez, a grad transfer who was the leading back-up and another frequently used reserve, Troy Henderson.
The situation is so bad that the pre-season depth chart didn’t have a traditional 4-3-4 set up. Instead they had 4 linemen, only 2 linebackers and 5 defensive backs. And one of the starting linebackers is to be Kielan Whitner, a converted defensive back. That almost makes it a 4-1-6. That could be great for covering passing attacks or the option game. But it could come up short- way short- against a power running team and we will be playing a few of them.
When I first started watching college football games on TV in the early 60’s, I remember seeing Bear Bryant’s Alabama teams. In those days, they were known for having a lot of light, quick, defenders who were famous for flying to the ball and gang tackling. Bryant accentuated the idea by appointing the whole starting line-up team captains so the two guys from the other team would be outnumbered at mid field for the opening coin flip. That and their aggressive style of play made the other team feel outnumbered the whole game.
I don’t know that we need a gimmick like that but we will need to be that kind of team- one that swarms to the ball and over-whelms the other team with numbers, rather than one that depends on a few stars to make the plays.
The two seniors, Ryan Guthrie and Kielan Whitner, are the listed starters. Guthrie was a JUCO transfer who played in 12 games last year and made the sack that clinched the Pittsburgh win. Nunes: “At Ellsworth Community College, he was an expert at getting behind the line of scrimmage (25.5 tackles for loss in 2016), and that skill will probably be used a bit differently with SU. Expect him to be utilized in coverage given the traditional role of MLBs in the Tampa-2, but Guthrie will be applying pressure just the same. Expect big tackle numbers (at least 80), and enough TFLs and sacks to disrupt opposing passing games a bit.” Whitner is most known for a painful interference penalty as a freshman that was a turning point in our loss at South Florida. He’s now one of our more experienced defenders, having played in 32 games, 5 of which he started. Almost all of those appearances were as a D-back. Nunes: “After bouncing around positions these past few years, Whitner is now Syracuse’s starting strongside linebacker. That may seem strange at first, but the fact that he’s a reformed defensive back might actually help this year’s unit fit the Tampa-2 even more than the previous group. Linebackers need to be able to play in coverage in this system, and Whitner fills that need.” Syracuse.com: “His coverage ability plays into defensive coordinator Brian Ward's tendencies. How his 6-foot, 215-pound frame holds up in the box is more of a question.”
The immediate back-ups are Andrew Armstrong and Shyheim Cullen. Armstrong was Bennett’s back-up and will be behind Guthrie, (but all such designations are up in the air at this point). Syracuse.com: “He’s known for his versatility, having practiced at all three linebacker spots during his first two years on campus, and is expected to vie for consistent playing time this year.” He’s played in all 24 games of his first two years here and recorded 29 tackles. Cullen “has been a difference maker on special teams”. Most of his 23 appearances have been in that capacity but he has been exceptional, often the first one to make contact on punt and kickoff returns. As a member of the punt coverage team, helped the Orange rank first in the ACC and fourth nationally in punt return yardage defense (2.67 avg.). “ (Cuse.com)
Actually, we’ve got plenty of players listed as linebackers on the roster- 14. But of the ten others 6 are true freshmen or redshirt freshmen and have never played a game at this level. The four who have are Nadarius Fagan, Zack Lesko, Tim Walton and Lakiem Williams. Fagan was a three star recruit rated the 38th best outside linebacker by ESPN. He played four games last year on the kickoff team. Syracuse.com: “A sophomore who played sparingly last season, Fagan wasn't mentioned much this spring. At 6 feet, 1 inch and 213 pounds, the Miami native has intriguing coverage skills, but may lack the bulk to hold up in the box.” We won’t see Lesko this year. He’s a transfer from Chattanooga who must sit this year out. Walton is probably our biggest linebacker at 6-3 230. He played as a back-up defensive end last year and got into the ‘Central’ games: Connecticut and Michigan. He was considered a three star recruit. Williams, like Lesko has never played here. He’s a JUCO transfer from Butte College, the same place we got Clayton Welch from. Cuse.com: “Reserve linebacker who could make an immediate impact on special teams. Second on the team with 63 tackles in 11 games, including 3.5 for a loss, and one interception.” He had 124 tackles in two years there.” Syracuse.com: “An apparent knee injury sidelined him for most of the spring, sapping him of valuable practice reps, but he still has a chance to work his way up the ladder during camp.” Williams is already a hit in the weight room.
cusefb_strength on Twitter
The future of the linebacker positon may lie with the freshmen, (I’m seeing only one LB so far in our 2019 commits). We’d better get used to their names. They are: Tre Allison, Terrell Bennett, Tyrell Richards, Kadeem Trotter, Juan Wallace and Jake Wright.
Allison has good size at 6-2, 230. He’s a three star true freshman out of Tyler, Texas, the same town that gave the sport Earl Campbell. EASPN has him as the #32 outside linebacker in his class. Cuse.com “Logged 275 tackles, nine pass breakups, five interceptions, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in his career.” Syracuse.com: “more physically equipped than most first-year players.” Nunes: “seems likely to redshirt (though he’s certainly the right size to jump in right away).” His name’s Tre, so he must be a good player. They all seem to be.
Bennett is a walk-on who, per Nunes, “hopes to earn a scholarship in his sophomore year.” He’s unmentioned by Syracuse.com or any scouting services and has no bio on his Cuse.com page. His high school coach says: “He’s not some kid that I would ever doubt. Terrell is like one of the hardest working kids ... He believes he can get through anything.”
Richards is the better Tyrell. He’s big at 6-4 227. He’s from Canada, where we’ve gotten some good players over the years. He redshirted last year but “impressed on the scout team”, per Syracuse.com “He has the frame to play in the ACC. How he learns from opportunities early in preseason camp, and then his first batch of live reps during the season, will go a long way toward determining his role this season.” Nunes: “The 247Sports composite rankings said three stars, and he was one of the five best players out of Canada for 2017. Not too shabby.”
Trotter is another redshirt freshman with a defensive back’s physique at 6-2 206 and is a “plus coverage player” per Syracuse.com. 247sports gave him 3 stars and rated him the 92nd best safety in his class. He’s supposed to have a lot of raw talent and might have been rated higher except he tore his MCL during his senior year in high school.
Wallace was the most highly recruited linebacker in this class. Georgia, Kentucky, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Maryland and Rutgers wanted him badly but he was here for the Clemson upset and decided this was the place for him. He was rated 3 stars like so many others but one of the top 40 inside linebackers in the country. At 6-2 215, SU would like to redshirt him while he builds himself up a little more. He was a high school teammate of freshman receiver Ed Hendrix at IMG Academy, from where a lot of top college players come.
Wright is an undersized (6-1, 195), freshman walk-on who will probably redshirt.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Seniors: Antwan Cordy 5-8 177; Tyrone Perkins 6-0 206; Juniors: Scoop Bradshaw 5-11 181; Evan Foster 6-0 223; Christopher Fredrick 5-11 194; DuWayne Johnson 6-3 180; Carl Jones 6-1 193; Sean Onwualu 6-1 191; Sophomores: Devon Clarke 6-3 193: Kyle Strickland 6-0 181; Allen Stritzinger 6-0 190; Freshmen: AJ Calabro 5-0 180; Andre Cisco 6-0 199; Eric Coley 6-2 183; Cam Jonas 6-1 209; Ifeatu Melifonwu 6-3 200; Kevin Nusdeo 6-1 198; John Sweetwood 6-0 170; Trill Williams 6-2 202
This unit is similar to the offensive line in many ways. You could argue that they, other than the QB, are the two most important units of the team. The line, if it’s good will allow you to run plays as they were diagramed on the blackboard: running backs don’t get hit until they are beyond the line of scrimmage and they do the hitting: the quarterback can give the receivers time to get open and then choose among them. You can sustain and finish drives and give the defense plenty of territory to defend. The defensive backfield, if good, can cut off the big plays that have killed us in recent years. They can also help the front seven make big plays by forcing the QB to hold on to the ball. The late, great Chris Gedney had a habit when doing our color commentary of sighing or grunting when a play developed that was obviously going to be big trouble for us. Unfortunately, we’ll never hear that again but fortunately there should be significantly fewer times when we would have heard it. A good defensive backfield will also make more big plays, especially if the line can pressure the QB. We need more scores from our defense and special teams and we might get more of them this year, especially from the defense.
Both units have had to deal with many injuries the last couple of years. The silver lining of that is that there are a lot of experienced players on the roster, giving us a level of depth and competition we haven’t seen in a while. On top of that, Babers and his staff have made these units recruiting priority and there are a lot of talented players available, even with the players that have been switched to linebacker.
The preseason depth chart has Antwan Cordy, Scoop Bradshaw, Andre Cisco, Evan Foster and Chris Fredrick as the starters but they will be pushed by some players who could turn out to be as good or better. Cordy may be the best all-round football player on the roster but his last two years have been almost tragic. As a sophomore he was second on the team in tackles as a strong safety and set an SU record for tackles for a loss by a defensive back with 12. He was only 5-8 177 but hit like a linebacker and was our best over man as well. Then in the second game of the 2016 season, he broke an arm and missed the rest of the season. He was granted a medical redshirt so last season was his do-over as a junior …and he broke his ankle early in the first game and was again out for the season.
Syracuse.com: “Cordy was forced back into the training room and rehabilitation process that took over his third year on campus. And the recovery grind this time around took a toll on his mental health. "I went through a bad depression, bad depression," Cordy said Friday, "and I questioned God, like, 'Why me?' The redshirt senior struggled to find the motivation that once drove him to work out early in the morning and late at night. Finding the energy to go to the training room for hours of rehab was difficult.
He turned the corner when his girlfriend, SU softball player and Liverpool native Alicia Hansen, recommended he seek counseling. He began speaking with a counselor inside the school's Stevenson Educational Center and found peace with his situation. "Ever since then, I just don't think about it anymore," Cordy said of his ankle. "I just go forward. My cut came back. My backpedal, my speed came back. It's just all natural now."
There was a thought of switching Cordy to offense to get in the mix at wide receiver. He’s also listed among our kick returners. It was thought perhaps there would be less contact there and he could avoid injury for his senior years. But on the depth chart, he’s listed as the starting ‘nickel’ back, (the fifth D-back in the 4-2-5). I suspect that, by his hard hitting, competitive nature, that that’s the best place for him.
Bradshaw and Fredrick will be the starting corners. Bradshaw started 11 games last year. Cuse.com: “Recorded 21 tackles on the season, including 5.5 for a loss, one sack and recovered a fumble ... Led the team with six pass breakups.” Syracuse.com: “…and scooped up a blocked extra point for a long two-point conversion against Wake Forest.” He missed one game after injuring his arm against Clemson. “And remember, while essentially playing with one arm late last season, becoming an easy target for opposing coordinators, he still got the nod over other cornerbacks on the roster.” Fredrick started all 12 games last year and “Recorded 43 tackles (31 solo) and tied for second on the Orange with five passes defended (4 pass breakups, 1 INT) ... Had multiple tackles in every game and at least four tackles in eight contests.” (Cuse.com) Nunes: “During the early-season improved period for this defense, he was a critical part of the resurgent coverage ability on the outside.”
Nunes: “Like last year, a lot will depend on safety play. When Jordan Martin was healthy, it gave SU corners more piece of mind on help over the top. Transitioning to a 4-2-5 could provide an assist, but Syracuse still has inexperience at the safety spot right now.” Foster is a linebacker-sized safety at 6-0 223. (The designations may be misleading this season.) He started all 12 games at strong safety per Cuse.com, (actually I think Cordy started there that first game but he went out almost immediately). “(He) was third on the team and first among defensive backs with 64 tackles, including 48 solo stops ... Tied for second on the team with five passes defended, including four pass breakups and one interception ... Also forced a fumble ... Seven 5+ tackle games.” Nunes: “Foster will be counted on to have a bigger impact in terms of creating turnovers and limiting big plays.”
The inexperience comes from freshman Andre Cisco. Fredrick: "He's kind of not like the average freshman. He seems like a vet. He's always in the film room. He's out here working early before practice, doing extra things." Cordy: "It feels like he's been here already. He was in the playbook quick. I feel like he knew everything already. Usually, it takes freshmen a minute to know things, but he's right on it." He was another 3 star recruit and was rated the 52nd best safety in his high school class. He’s still another IMG graduate. Nunes: “He’ll be a big part of protecting SU from getting beat over the top, as they have been in recent years.”
The guy he beat out, (or, more likely, is nose-to-nose with), is sophomore Devon Clarke. He was a “consistent 3 star recruit” from Florida, (whose 3 stars are like 4 stars elsewhere). He redshirted in 2016 and was ‘ineligible to play for undisclosed reasons last year”. Reports are the reasons were “an arrest and subsequent suspension for his role in an on-campus burglary”. (Nunes) “I would expect the two to share plenty of snaps, or for Clarke to earn at least some real solid minutes this year. He had a very strong showing in the spring and should have helped himself out during the session.”
These last two seasons when Cordy was out, he was replaced primarily by the somewhat similar Daivon Ellison, who is also 5-8 177 and also hits like a linebacker. The difference was that Cordy was a better cover guy. It won’t be Ellison who would replace Cordy this year because he’s gone and so are safety Rodney Williams, and cornerbacks Cordell Hudson and Juwan Dowells, all grad transfers. All started some games and saw action in many others. I found it alarming that we lost no less than four players with experience in one unit that could have come back for another year. As with Kayton Samuels, the DT who left, other posters have reassured me that those guys had been recruited over and will be replaced by younger players who are more talented and meet the measurables, (size and speed) that Babers needs to compete in the ACC. I hope they are right – and I think they might be.
Eric Coley is the stepson of Baber’s defensive tackles coach, Vinson Reynolds, who had a role in putting together that Western Michigan team that went to the Cotton Bowl before he was hired by Babers. When that family moved here, Eric enrolled at Fayetteville-Manlius high schools and showed a degree of athletic and football prowess that we haven’t seen around here in a long time. As a running back, he put up amazing numbers. As a senior, rushed for 1,295 yards on 129 carries (10.0!) and 17 touchdowns … Averaged 215.8 yards rushing per game … Five 100-yard rushing games and three 200-yard rushing efforts, including 405 yards and five TDs in -M’s 59-39 victory over Henninger … In his first game at the Carrier Dome versus Gates-Chili, ran for 218 yards and scored three touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving) to earn Express Mart Kick-Off Classic MVP honors … Defensively, registered 70 tackles, including eight for a loss, five sacks and one fumble recovery for the Hornets.” Cuse.com. naturally, he was a three star recruit. If you go to Syracuse you’re going to be a three star, not a four or five star. He redshirted last year. He’s got good size for at 6-2 183 and blazing speed. Both Syracuse.com and Nunes see him on special teams for now. I hope he gets a chance to return some kicks.
Eric in action: The Closing
Ifeatu Melifonwu is basically the same player as Coley except he didn’t play around here, (Massachusetts) and his name is seemingly unpronounceable. (But not althogether: Eh-FAH-too Mel-eh-FON-wu). He also redshirted last year. Cuse.com: “As a senior captain, rushed for 1,876 yards and 25 touchdowns, while intercepting two passes on defense … Ran for 237 yards and two scores in Grafton’s state semifinal win against Taconic … Tied the school single-game record with six rushing touchdowns versus Quabbin … Also played basketball, lacrosse and ran track.” ‘Quabbin”? Syracuse.com: “There's a lot to like out of the redshirt freshman, who is the younger brother of the Oakland Raiders freakishly athletic defensive back, Obi Melifonfu. Iffy has the physical traits every college program covets in its cornerbacks. He's still young with plenty of room to further develop physically, but for now he brings depth to a position in a way that should excite SU fans.” Nunes: “He’s already moved up to a second-string cornerback spot behind Chris Fredrick, after originally committing to the Syracuse Orange as a safety. Melifonwu could conceivably play either role — but in any case, he’s a rising name on the roster and among the first players to likely get a look if any starters are adjusted among the DBs.” He’s 6-3 200 and fast. Naturally he’s 3 stars.
Eh-FAH-too in action: Senior Highlights
The most heralded SU recruit in this last class is Trill Williams, another big, fast DB (6-2, 202) who can also make things happen with the ball in his hands. He’s so good he got four stars from 247sports, who rated him the #7 “athlete” in his class. Cuse.com: “As a senior captain, made 46 tackles and had 19 passes defended, including five interceptions, to lead the Crusaders to a 10-2 record and the 2017 CHSAA Class AAA state title … Offensively, recorded 534 yards (317 rushing, 217 receiving) and 11 touchdowns from scrimmage … Also returned seven punts for 138 yards (19.7 avg.)”. Nunes: Like Melifonwu, Trill’s pretty big at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, but he just got to campus and there are experienced options in front of him. Still, he’s already on the two-deep despite only arriving this summer and Julian thinks he’s already covering really well for a freshman. That’s new for us, but what you expect from a four-star recruit. He could see time this year.” Trill’s full name is “Atrilleon Williams”. He may mention that at contract time in the bigs.
Trill the Thrill: Sav6ix Senior year Mix ®
I can’t wait to see these guys in action and I want SU to find ways to get the ball in their hands.
Carl Jones has played 23 games in two years, mostly on special teams. He’s competing with Trill Williams for the back-up spot to Scoop Bradshaw. Carl was a three star in his own right when recruited back in 2015. This is his big chance but he has to fight off Williams to get much playing time.
DuWayne Johnson, (no, not “The Rock”, who played in the Dome with Miami in the famous 1992 game), I JUCO transfer who started his career at Virginia Tech. he decided to come to Syracuse because he wanted to play in a “Tampa 2” system and liked the fact that the coaches are asking for tighter coverage this this year. He’s another CB with good size (6-3 180) and speed, the kind of guy we need to cover ACC receivers. Syracuse.com: “Rated three stars and the No. 8 JUCO corner this cycle by 247Sports.com's composite rankings, he was also offered by Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa State, among other programs.”
Four years ago, we recruited three tailbacks: Jordan Fredericks, Dontae Strickland and Tyrone Perkins. I remembered looking at their films and having a hard time deciding who would have the better career. Fredericks was the biggest talent but something happened between him and the new coaching staff and he’s gone. Strickland now shares the TB job with Neal. Perkins, in three years, has carried the ball 9 times for 23 yards and caught two passes for 14 yards. He hasn’t scored. He’s played a lot on special teams. Now he’s been switched to defensive back and isn’t on the two-deep. It happens.
Allen Stritzinger was another three star recruit rated the #41 “athlete”, (meaning he could play on offense, defense or special teams) in his high school class and #49 as a safety. Last year he was on the depth chart as a tailback but played on the kickoff return team for 9 games. He’s now been switched to the defensive backfield. Nunes: “Stritzinger could figure into nickel and dime package rotations in non-conference play. If he does well there, he could be playing more regularly during conference play on defense along with his special team duties.”
John Sweetwood is a freshman walk-on and is unlikely to see action this year. AJ Calabro is a “preferred walk-on” but he probably won’t see action either, a likely redshirt. So is Kevin Nusdeo. Nunes: “it would take quite a few injuries to scholarship defensive backs to hear Nusdeo’s number called at safety or corner.” Kyle Strickland was a walk-on two years ago. He’s seen action on the kick-off return team in six games. Sean Onwualu walked on last year. Nunes: “He joined the Syracuse Orange in January 2017 as a walk-on. He actually started his Syracuse academic career in Strasbourg, France and worked as an analyst for Citrus TV before joining the team. Perhaps he can also help with Syracuse’s Quebec recruiting efforts.” If you started you SU academic career in Strasbourg France, you probably aren’t going to see much action on the football field.
KICKERS
Seniors: Juniors: Sterling Hofrichter 5-9 197; Sophomores: Nolan Cooney6-3 202; Freshmen: Cory Smigel 5-8 144; Andre Szmyt 6-1 195
Sterling Hofrichter is the big name here: he’s been our punter for two years and has been an excellent one, (unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of years in recent times when our punter was probably MVP and he was close to it). He’s an averaged sized guy (5-9, 183)) with a well-above average leg. He also has multiple techniques. He can boom the ball in the conventional fashion, place it in tight circumstances or roll out and kick it rugby style to avoid a rush. When he does that he often kicks a low line-drive away from the returners which can roll a long ways, (he averaged 43.2 yards per punt. He also did some kicking off and kicked 2 of 3 field goals when Cole Murphy was hurt. Now he’s going to take over all three duties, something we haven’t tried in years. Hofrichter is the type who could make it work.
In case he doesn’t, we have three other kickers. Nolan Cooney is also practicing kick-offs and may take over that job to ease Hofrichter’s burden. He was “rated the top prospect at the Ray Guy Prokicker.com 2014 regional combine in Boston.” Andre Syzmt (pronounced “Schmitt”) was “rated four stars by Kohl’s Kicking Midwest Winter Showcase”. Corey Schmigl ”averaged 37.1 yards per punt, made 5-of-7 field goals, and hit 17-of-18 PATs in his final scholastic season”. Cooney also does the holding for the place-kicks. I don’t know why we don’t have a back-up quarterback do that so he can make a play out of bad snap.
KICK RETURNERS
Seniors: Antwan Cordy 5-8 177 Juniors: Shyheim Cullen 6-0 224; Sean Riley 5-8 158: Sophomores: none Freshmen: none
Those are the three guys listed as kickoff or punt returners on the pre-season two deep but I suspect other players could get into the mix before the season starts. Sean Riley is the primary guy. He’s the slippery type and has squirted through the opposition for the occasional big return, (he has 66 and 64 yard kick-off returns), but he’s never scored a touchdown for Syracuse. He doesn’t have great flat-out speed and he’s so small, (5-8 158) that, while he can break ankles, he has a hard time breaking tackles. It would be nice to have a threat to go all the way, as was his predecessor, Brisly Estime.
Cordy and Cullen are odd choices here. Cordy has been a career defensive back and never returned a kick for us. Cullen is a linebacker who has played special teams as a “gunner” but did return one kick-off for 13 yards. He was a running back as well as a defensive player in high school and had 1400 career rushing yards with 20 touchdowns. They are both good athletes capable of doing this kind of work. But I want to see guys like Coley, Melifonwu, Williams and some of the Johnsons from the receiver corps get a shot at this. I hope the coaching staff doesn’t, as some past staffs have done, regard kicks as just an exchange of possession, where all we want it to possess the ball. That’s essential but kick returns and blocks are opportunities for big plays and we need them.
Overall, the roster looks pretty good to me, except for the total lack of experience at the linebacker position. We seem to be a bigger, stronger, faster, more talented team that is more capable of competing in the Atlantic Division of the ACC – and do it for 12 games. But the teams we will be playing have plenty of 3 star recruits and also some 4 and 5 star recruits mixed in. They have their own exciting clips of high school highlights and gaudy stats. They have no reason to fear us. But that may to our advantage.
