SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 32,452
- Like
- 62,614
Kickers
Seniors: Colby Barker 6-1 215
Juniors: Andre Szmyt 6-1 210 (up from 184, which down from 194 in 2019)
Sophomores:
Freshmen: James Williams 6-1 215 (up from 199)
Gone:
Nolan Cooney is a New Orleans Saint – for now.
Noah Nwosu was expected back per an article January but he’s not on the fall roster.
Barker is a grad transfer from Ohio State. He’d hoped to be treated a s junior under the Covid rules but the roster lists him as a “redshirt senior”. He played Lacrosse at Ohio State but wanted to see if he could become a football kicker. He averaged 35.3 yards per punt on 14 punts in high school. Considering Cooney set a school record by averaging 44.8 yards per punt and his two predecessors are also in the NFL, I’m not sure what Colby brings to the table here.
Szmyt (“Schmidt”) is the big name here. He burst upon the season in the what now seems magical year of 2018, when so many things went right, scoring 151 points, (second in the country behind Travis Etienne’s 156) on a national best 30 field goals in 34 attempts, (the national record is 31), and 61 of 61 extra points. Yes, he made 91 of 95 place kicks! It got him the Lou Groza award as the nation’s best kicker. Since then, he’s scored 140 points in two years. It’s not that he’s fallen off, (at least not very far): the team has, scoring 523 points in 2018 and 535 since. When Szmyt has gotten the chance to display his talents he’s made 26 of 31 field goals and 62 of 64 points. Dino wishes he spent as much time worrying about other aspects of his team as he does about the place-kicking.
Williams was that rarity, a big-time kicking recruit. Cuse.com: “Ranked among the top kickers in the country by (No. 2), the 247Sports.com composite index (No. 9) and ESPN (No. 10) … Rated five stars and the No. 4 punter and No. 13 placekicker in the 2020 class by Kohl’s Kicking…. As a senior captain, converted 52 out of 53 (.981) extra points and 4-of-5 (.800) field goals, while averaging 35.8 yards on 25 punts.” Great, but why does he have Colby Barker’s punting average?
Snappers
Seniors: none
Juniors: Aaron Bolinsky 5-11 218
Sophomores: none
Freshman: Joey Kelly 6-1 193, Mike Midkiff 6-3 195
It’s the same three guys they had last year with the same eligibility years so I’ll just repeat what I said about them last year:
Aaron Bolinsky has been a big part of the success of our kickers and should be a major asset with a new punter. He “Stepped into the role of starting snapper for punts and placement kicks after Matt Keller was injured on Sept. 29, (2018), at Clemson” (Cuse.com) and we didn’t skip a beat. Kelly and Midkiff will try to do the same when Aaron leaves but that doesn’t have to be for two seasons yet.
Kick returners
Seniors:
Juniors:
Sophomores:
Freshmen: Trebor Pena 6-0 185
Gone, (all three guys I listed last year): Nykeim Johnson, Jawhar Jordan, Trill Williams, whose absences have already been explained.
Pena is the only guy who retuned a kick for Syracuse last year who is back this year and he returned one of them 98 yards for a touchdown. He returned his other six kicks for a very creditable 127 yards. He didn’t return any punts. The trend toward big wide-outs makes them a less likely choice for returning kicks but the slot guys Courtney Jackson and Pena are the types that could help us there. I don’t think we want to use any of our running backs in that role. It seems mostly left to the defensive backs to provide the returners. Duce Chestnut would seem like someone you’d want in this role, since he had an incredible “13 career special teams touchdowns” in his high school career. For the fourth year in a row I’ll say that I’d love to see Eric Coley returning kick-offs.
Steele’s projected starting line-up:
QB Garrett Shrader (PS#23) Athlon & Lindy’s: Tommy DeVtio
RB Sean Tucker (PS#99)
Slot Courtney Jackson (PS#126) Athlon &Lindy’s: Taj Harris
WR Taj Harris (PS#132) Athlon & Lindy’s: Damien Alford
WR Anthony Queeley (PS#191)
TE Like Henson (PS#91) Athlon: Chris Elmore
RT Airon Servais (PS#208) Athlon & Lindy’s: Willie Tyler
RG Chris Bleich (PS#54)
C Carlos Vettorello (PS#86) Athlon & Lindy’s Airon Servias (because they thought we had Tyler)
LG Dakota Davis (PS#213)
LT Matthew Bergeron (PS #236)
K- Andre Szmyt (PS unrated)
P James Williams (PS#3)
DE Josh Black (PS#187)
DT McKinley Williams (PS#355)
DE Kingsley Jonathan (PS#208)
SAM Stefon Thompson (PS#150)
MLB Goeff Cantin-Arku (PS#195) Athlon & Lindy’s:: Mikel Jones
WLB Mikel Jones (PS#45) Athlon & Lindy’s: Marlowe Wax
Rover Ja’Had Carter (PS#114) Athlon: Rob Hanna, Lindy’s: Jason Simmons
CB Garrett Williams (PS#362)
SS Eric Coley (PS#171) Athlon & Lindy’s: Ja’Had Carter
FS Aman Greenwood (PS#156)
CB Cornelius Nunn (PS#117)
Total Phil Steele rating: 3,613 (adding up the PS#)
All three magazines suggested that losing Special teams coordinator Justin Lusting to Vanderbilt was a major loss. But the new guy, Jeff Hammerschmidt, had the same position with the New York Jets. I like what Cuse.com said about him: “While he was in New York, the Jets special teams unit ranked fourth in the NFL for fewest penalties, while also ranking in the top-10 in total touchdowns (five), blocked punts (two), forced fumbles (three), kickoff return average (22.9) and kickoff return average against (21.3).
In 2018, Hammerschmidt assisted a special teams unit that was widely regarded as the best in the league, finishing in the top-five in kickoff return average (third; 26.9), punt return average (13.0) and field goal percentage (fourth; 91.7-percent)”. Sounds good to me.
Steele said “Sometimes I’m surprised when a coach is fired but I was surprised when Syracuse opted to retain Babers. Syracuse has won more than 2 ACC games twice in a season since joining the ACC in 2013. They did play most of 2020 with about 60 scholarship players barely being able to play each week. SU has cracked the top 50 in recruiting rankings jus tonces since joining the ACC in 2013 and only 8 players remain from that class, (2018). This is a much improved team but at -199 ypg in ACC play they have a lot of ground to close.”
Lindy’s: “Syracuse is on the road to recovery, but it hinges on improved offensive line play…Non-conference games should offer some young position groups a chance to acclimate before the conference season heats up but Ohio and Rutgers are no pushovers and upstart Liberty is back on the schedule. Syracuse needs to hit the ground running in September to avoid another disastrous season.”
Athlon: “After the pandemic contributed to a ghastly 2020 season, the eligibility flexibility that resulted gives Syracuse bolstered depth for this fall and potentially the next few seasons as well. Whether SU can capitalize on that, against teams that also have the same luxury, is the issue. And, as been the case the last two years, it all starts with the offensive line. If that group can do enough to let Babers and offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert run their veer-and-shoot system comfortably, SU has the pieces in place to compete with most of its opponents. But if the front five struggles again, another losing season appears likely.” We have a ‘veer-and-shoot’ system?
Athlon has a section quoting opposing coaches, (anonymously). “If I had to pick one program that falls apart this year, it’s probably here or Duke. Right now it’s a train wreck, at least externally”….”it’s just that the era of “go real fast and throw verts’ has sort of run its course for the moment, compounded by the fact that other teams in this league run that system better and with better players.”….The offensive line is probably the worst in the league…You don’t’ have to blitz to get home on them , so you don’t really have to disguise much of what you are doing…..They struggle up front on defense. That’s where you see the lack of talent compared to the top half of the teams in the league……I don’t’ see things getting much better for them because the offensive scheme is really the identity and recruiting to it when you’re up in New York just isn’t going to work….I think their situation is a lot like Duke’s success a few years ago. It’s possible to have one or two really good years in this league if the division is down. They’re on Clemson’s side but I think they feasted programs dealing with their own down years and now, that’s not the case. BC is better. NC State is better. It would be surprising if they were able to make another run.”
Let’s surprise those coaches!
Seniors: Colby Barker 6-1 215
Juniors: Andre Szmyt 6-1 210 (up from 184, which down from 194 in 2019)
Sophomores:
Freshmen: James Williams 6-1 215 (up from 199)
Gone:
Nolan Cooney is a New Orleans Saint – for now.
Noah Nwosu was expected back per an article January but he’s not on the fall roster.
Barker is a grad transfer from Ohio State. He’d hoped to be treated a s junior under the Covid rules but the roster lists him as a “redshirt senior”. He played Lacrosse at Ohio State but wanted to see if he could become a football kicker. He averaged 35.3 yards per punt on 14 punts in high school. Considering Cooney set a school record by averaging 44.8 yards per punt and his two predecessors are also in the NFL, I’m not sure what Colby brings to the table here.
Szmyt (“Schmidt”) is the big name here. He burst upon the season in the what now seems magical year of 2018, when so many things went right, scoring 151 points, (second in the country behind Travis Etienne’s 156) on a national best 30 field goals in 34 attempts, (the national record is 31), and 61 of 61 extra points. Yes, he made 91 of 95 place kicks! It got him the Lou Groza award as the nation’s best kicker. Since then, he’s scored 140 points in two years. It’s not that he’s fallen off, (at least not very far): the team has, scoring 523 points in 2018 and 535 since. When Szmyt has gotten the chance to display his talents he’s made 26 of 31 field goals and 62 of 64 points. Dino wishes he spent as much time worrying about other aspects of his team as he does about the place-kicking.
Williams was that rarity, a big-time kicking recruit. Cuse.com: “Ranked among the top kickers in the country by (No. 2), the 247Sports.com composite index (No. 9) and ESPN (No. 10) … Rated five stars and the No. 4 punter and No. 13 placekicker in the 2020 class by Kohl’s Kicking…. As a senior captain, converted 52 out of 53 (.981) extra points and 4-of-5 (.800) field goals, while averaging 35.8 yards on 25 punts.” Great, but why does he have Colby Barker’s punting average?
Snappers
Seniors: none
Juniors: Aaron Bolinsky 5-11 218
Sophomores: none
Freshman: Joey Kelly 6-1 193, Mike Midkiff 6-3 195
It’s the same three guys they had last year with the same eligibility years so I’ll just repeat what I said about them last year:
Aaron Bolinsky has been a big part of the success of our kickers and should be a major asset with a new punter. He “Stepped into the role of starting snapper for punts and placement kicks after Matt Keller was injured on Sept. 29, (2018), at Clemson” (Cuse.com) and we didn’t skip a beat. Kelly and Midkiff will try to do the same when Aaron leaves but that doesn’t have to be for two seasons yet.
Kick returners
Seniors:
Juniors:
Sophomores:
Freshmen: Trebor Pena 6-0 185
Gone, (all three guys I listed last year): Nykeim Johnson, Jawhar Jordan, Trill Williams, whose absences have already been explained.
Pena is the only guy who retuned a kick for Syracuse last year who is back this year and he returned one of them 98 yards for a touchdown. He returned his other six kicks for a very creditable 127 yards. He didn’t return any punts. The trend toward big wide-outs makes them a less likely choice for returning kicks but the slot guys Courtney Jackson and Pena are the types that could help us there. I don’t think we want to use any of our running backs in that role. It seems mostly left to the defensive backs to provide the returners. Duce Chestnut would seem like someone you’d want in this role, since he had an incredible “13 career special teams touchdowns” in his high school career. For the fourth year in a row I’ll say that I’d love to see Eric Coley returning kick-offs.
Steele’s projected starting line-up:
QB Garrett Shrader (PS#23) Athlon & Lindy’s: Tommy DeVtio
RB Sean Tucker (PS#99)
Slot Courtney Jackson (PS#126) Athlon &Lindy’s: Taj Harris
WR Taj Harris (PS#132) Athlon & Lindy’s: Damien Alford
WR Anthony Queeley (PS#191)
TE Like Henson (PS#91) Athlon: Chris Elmore
RT Airon Servais (PS#208) Athlon & Lindy’s: Willie Tyler
RG Chris Bleich (PS#54)
C Carlos Vettorello (PS#86) Athlon & Lindy’s Airon Servias (because they thought we had Tyler)
LG Dakota Davis (PS#213)
LT Matthew Bergeron (PS #236)
K- Andre Szmyt (PS unrated)
P James Williams (PS#3)
DE Josh Black (PS#187)
DT McKinley Williams (PS#355)
DE Kingsley Jonathan (PS#208)
SAM Stefon Thompson (PS#150)
MLB Goeff Cantin-Arku (PS#195) Athlon & Lindy’s:: Mikel Jones
WLB Mikel Jones (PS#45) Athlon & Lindy’s: Marlowe Wax
Rover Ja’Had Carter (PS#114) Athlon: Rob Hanna, Lindy’s: Jason Simmons
CB Garrett Williams (PS#362)
SS Eric Coley (PS#171) Athlon & Lindy’s: Ja’Had Carter
FS Aman Greenwood (PS#156)
CB Cornelius Nunn (PS#117)
Total Phil Steele rating: 3,613 (adding up the PS#)
All three magazines suggested that losing Special teams coordinator Justin Lusting to Vanderbilt was a major loss. But the new guy, Jeff Hammerschmidt, had the same position with the New York Jets. I like what Cuse.com said about him: “While he was in New York, the Jets special teams unit ranked fourth in the NFL for fewest penalties, while also ranking in the top-10 in total touchdowns (five), blocked punts (two), forced fumbles (three), kickoff return average (22.9) and kickoff return average against (21.3).
In 2018, Hammerschmidt assisted a special teams unit that was widely regarded as the best in the league, finishing in the top-five in kickoff return average (third; 26.9), punt return average (13.0) and field goal percentage (fourth; 91.7-percent)”. Sounds good to me.
Steele said “Sometimes I’m surprised when a coach is fired but I was surprised when Syracuse opted to retain Babers. Syracuse has won more than 2 ACC games twice in a season since joining the ACC in 2013. They did play most of 2020 with about 60 scholarship players barely being able to play each week. SU has cracked the top 50 in recruiting rankings jus tonces since joining the ACC in 2013 and only 8 players remain from that class, (2018). This is a much improved team but at -199 ypg in ACC play they have a lot of ground to close.”
Lindy’s: “Syracuse is on the road to recovery, but it hinges on improved offensive line play…Non-conference games should offer some young position groups a chance to acclimate before the conference season heats up but Ohio and Rutgers are no pushovers and upstart Liberty is back on the schedule. Syracuse needs to hit the ground running in September to avoid another disastrous season.”
Athlon: “After the pandemic contributed to a ghastly 2020 season, the eligibility flexibility that resulted gives Syracuse bolstered depth for this fall and potentially the next few seasons as well. Whether SU can capitalize on that, against teams that also have the same luxury, is the issue. And, as been the case the last two years, it all starts with the offensive line. If that group can do enough to let Babers and offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert run their veer-and-shoot system comfortably, SU has the pieces in place to compete with most of its opponents. But if the front five struggles again, another losing season appears likely.” We have a ‘veer-and-shoot’ system?
Athlon has a section quoting opposing coaches, (anonymously). “If I had to pick one program that falls apart this year, it’s probably here or Duke. Right now it’s a train wreck, at least externally”….”it’s just that the era of “go real fast and throw verts’ has sort of run its course for the moment, compounded by the fact that other teams in this league run that system better and with better players.”….The offensive line is probably the worst in the league…You don’t’ have to blitz to get home on them , so you don’t really have to disguise much of what you are doing…..They struggle up front on defense. That’s where you see the lack of talent compared to the top half of the teams in the league……I don’t’ see things getting much better for them because the offensive scheme is really the identity and recruiting to it when you’re up in New York just isn’t going to work….I think their situation is a lot like Duke’s success a few years ago. It’s possible to have one or two really good years in this league if the division is down. They’re on Clemson’s side but I think they feasted programs dealing with their own down years and now, that’s not the case. BC is better. NC State is better. It would be surprising if they were able to make another run.”
Let’s surprise those coaches!
