New Special Teams Coach: Ricky Brumfield

[All4SU]

Special teams seems to have changed so much in recent years. I’m not smart enough to know if it’s just at SU, or across CFB. But kickoffs are almost a non-factor. Most teams have a guy that can bang it through the end zone. It’s not as anti-climactic as the NFL, but it’s close. Fewer injuries.

I feel like we never see punt returns. Everything is a fair catch. Or a ball that SHOULD be a fair catch caught in traffic.

FGs seem to be longer, but no more consistent. Extra points are missed more.

Just seems like a dearth of big plays on ST these days.

 

[upperdeck]

Not sure how the salary offset really works. There is no guarantee that he even gets money from GT the way he stepped down. If you have an Assistant HC type position and leave to be a ball boy at another school, why would GT he on the hook for that? We dont even know what salary he would get here. Maybe at GT he got 200k for ST and 200K for the other duties tacked on and here he would make 200K again?

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Why do we need multiple threads where people complain that SU isn't getting more players from the portal?

Because the Rickie Collins thread is obviously not enough. It's not like there should be an actual thread devoted to complaining about Coach Brown's misuse of the portal. Wait a minute. Wouldn't that be a grand idea!

 

[0.2 YNdeeR]

Special teams seems to have changed so much in recent years. I’m not smart enough to know if it’s just at SU, or across CFB. But kickoffs are almost a non-factor. Most teams have a guy that can bang it through the end zone. It’s not as anti-climactic as the NFL, but it’s close. Fewer injuries.

I feel like we never see punt returns. Everything is a fair catch. Or a ball that SHOULD be a fair catch caught in traffic.

FGs seem to be longer, but no more consistent. Extra points are missed more.

Just seems like a dearth of big plays on ST these days.

That's probably fair overall, but there certainly wasn't a dearth of big ST plays against SU. Hopefully this new guy will scheme better protection for Stonehouse, instill some competency in the FG group (last in the ACC 2024), and make STs a unit to be proud of.

 

[sutomcat]

How many roster spots do we have to work with and keep in mind there is a spring portal…Fran has insinuated there would be less reliance on portal as he recruits more DARTs

Probably none, assuming the staff wants to retain a couple of walkons. One will be the long snapper.

I expect we will have a few players leave post spring ball. Some because they got beat out and do not want to wait to play. Some will get the talk. Some might have grade issues or got home sick or some of the many other things that happen when you have 100 people or so on your roster.

My guess is we add as many players as leave.

 

[anomander]

After looking into this it seems like a really solid hire who will bring a solid recruiting background with him. Not sure what happened at GT last year but he’s been successful wherever he’s been and recruited well along the way. Big upgrade.

 

[anomander]

How many roster spots do we have to work with and keep in mind there is a spring portal…Fran has insinuated there would be less reliance on portal as he recruits more DARTs

Well he had 36 HS kids commit so there isn’t much room. Before this year everyone was all about pounding the portal . I was never a portal pounder but it definitely can be used systematically to plug holes and sure up areas of concern. We have 6 transfers signed. I like Thomas, Collins, and Bertrand to an extent, as well as the need for a kicker, but the others are Fran Jr and a WR that barely played. Again, he was successful utilizing it last year. I might have reconsidered my approach seeing the success of some of the guys he was able to pull last year ended up having. Coaching is all about making adjustments. I know if i had that success i would have tried to replicate it. Then again maybe he knew he couldn’t because the financial status when it comes to NIL? Clemson is a perfect example. Dabo refused to use the portal and even with consistent top recruiting classes they have taken a step back and many fans blame it on his reluctance to use the portal. Nobody is asking to be Ole Miss or Texas Tech because we can’t compete with that. It just looks like we have a lot of holes to fill on defense and depending on young guys to fill in some of the holes left with this upcoming season is asking a lot.

Do you really think we needed 36 HS recruits? We all know there will be a portion that won’t pan out. I would have liked to see some of the more risky signees used on potential stop gap players for the upcoming season to try and pull off an upset or 2 and do our best to maintain the momentum we have going from this past season. These kids are very fickle. They aren’t going to care that we had a rough schedule.

 

[UD1954]

Fran Brown made it perfectly clear that Syracuse had to recruit and develop talent to be successful long term. He also said he wasn't recruiting out of portal for depth and last years work in the portal was necessary because of our lack of size and speed. l believe Fran will give his recruits the first opportunity to step up and grab a starting job before looking for a starter in the portal. One last thing.... if all a kid is looking for is a big bag l don't think he fits what Fran is looking for as far as DART.....JMHO

 

[SmilinBob]

It looks like you guys decided to punt on talking about Brumfield.

 

[OburgCuse]

Brumfield is from New Orleans and recruited a decent amount of Louisiana kids to Virginia (Dontayvion Wicks being one of them). It wouldn’t be surprising if we see a little uptick on some Louisiana kids seeing that Erob had a presence there while at A&M and Brumfield appears to be decent recruiter with lots of ties to the area.

 

[Qbobby]

It looks like you guys decided to punt on talking about Brumfield.

Clearly there is no one blocking this conversation either. Seems appropriate.

 

[orangefog]

Brumfield is from New Orleans and recruited a decent amount of Louisiana kids to Virginia (Dontayvion Wicks being one of them). It wouldn’t be surprising if we see a little uptick on some Louisiana kids seeing that Erob had a presence there while at A&M and Brumfield appears to be decent recruiter with lots of ties to the area.

New Orleans gets as much snow as Syracuse now, so the weather shouldn't be an issue anymore.

 

[Qbobby]

New Orleans gets as much snow as Syracuse now, so the weather shouldn't be an issue anymore.

Great, now New Orleans gets classified as a home game...

 

[PAcuse]

Luckily last year's bar was set so low for special teams that I think it will be an improvement.
He has had some great stops in his career, and I'm hoping this is next.

 

[AZOrange]

After looking into this it seems like a really solid hire who will bring a solid recruiting background with him. Not sure what happened at GT last year but he’s been successful wherever he’s been and recruited well along the way. Big upgrade.

I think GTs coach has jettisoned coaches midstream before

 

[IthacaMatt]

Exact same take. It’s amazing how people get all worked up with this. Everyone loves Fran but not acknowledging that the approach from 2024 recruiting to 2025 changed is a bit weird. He totally crushed it in 2024 in a very short time . Nobody is saying to pound the portal but not recognizing that we may need an OT and a couple LB’s is putting a lot of trust in a HC and program that we have had over the last 20 years. I love the culture Fran is implementing but we also had one of the best QB’s in the country and still had to fight and scrap for a 9-3 regular season record with a very manageable schedule. Whoever the QB is next season you can pretty much guarantee it’s going to be a step back. It also seems like people are punting on next season because of the brutal schedule and numerous roster question marks. Fran doesn’t seem like a guy who would punt on anything. The portal OT that Maryland bought and the multiple LB’s that were bought shows that we are not even close to competing in the current NIL landscape. Fran obviously identified those as positions of need or he wouldn’t have went after them. All i’ve ever wondered is if we went away from a recipe that worked last season on purpose, or because of NIL competition. It’s not hard to be objective and admit this class, HS/Portal combined, has taken a step back. I’ve also never heard a HC who said he wasn’t excited with the guys he currently has signed and on the roster. Again, I love Fran, but if we didn’t have Kyle we probably win 6 games this year, again, with one of the more manageable schedules we’re going to see. There were huge questions on defense and special teams that I really didn’t see fixed. Expecting next year is going to be a developmental year in todays CFB landscape is wishful thinking. We finally have some momentum. Being able to follow up on that to show it wasn’t a fluke or just because of Kyle would go a long way. Lastly, I get Fran said he would mainly focus on HS recruiting, but if he was able to crush the portal last year then why go away from that model? I would rather have guys i KNOW can compete at this level then hope they can.

I would like to have seen 3 or 4 difference makers, too. OT, LB, CB, DL. I'm hopeful. You would think that this year's success should keep the momentum flowing with donors and recruits.

 

[hungrychuck]

Clearly there is no one blocking this conversation either. Seems appropriate.

While I know nothing about Brumfield, I do know he’s replacing the worst special teams play I’ve seen in almost 50 years of following SU football.

As to recruiting, the first game Fran watched on his hire was the Broken Raton bowl.

I’m sure he couldn’t wait to recruit 35 guys. Just didn’t know he could do it in one year.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

I would like to have seen 3 or 4 difference makers, too. OT, LB, CB, DL. I'm hopeful. You would think that this year's success should keep the momentum flowing with donors and recruits.

They did get two of the four. Thomas is a somewhat underrated signing. Thomas, Watson, Perry and Wilson is a great rotation on first and second down at DT.
It is clear the staff was looking for linebackers. They offered three of the better guys in the portal. Once they missed on all three it was time to reevaluate. Sparrow and ZMG have been in the system for a year now, they might be better options than what is left in the portal.
Corner scares the bell out of me. The defense has a chance to improve next season but this is a glaring hole. Really hope someone can be added at corner or it could be a disaster.

 

[shu 49]

They did get two of the four. Thomas is a somewhat underrated signing. Thomas, Watson, Perry and Wilson is a great rotation on first and second down at DT.
It is clear the staff was looking for linebackers. They offered three of the better guys in the portal. Once they missed on all three it was time to reevaluate. Sparrow and ZMG have been in the system for a year now, they might be better options than what is left in the portal.
Corner scares the bell out of me. The defense has a chance to improve next season but this is a glaring hole. Really hope someone can be added at corner or it could be a disaster.

Yeah i see us good at dline now with Thomas add and as a lot of people on here sayi didnt think he was gonna go crazy with portal as he said he wouldnt. Maybe the money the kids wanted was more than he thought they were worth and we got out bid and i see his idea of checkingout spring ball with who we have and then deciding if we really need the threepositions i think we need and see whats out there. ZMG is a potential player here andi would love for us to develop these kids but until full pads are on we wont know. i always though we are 3 kids away from being good and its Lb safety and corner. i think we need one of each but see whats pops up in spring and see who kills it.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

Yeah i see us good at dline now with Thomas add and as a lot of people on here sayi didnt think he was gonna go crazy with portal as he said he wouldnt. Maybe the money the kids wanted was more than he thought they were worth and we got out bid and i see his idea of checkingout spring ball with who we have and then deciding if we really need the threepositions i think we need and see whats out there. ZMG is a potential player here andi would love for us to develop these kids but until full pads are on we wont know. i always though we are 3 kids away from being good and its Lb safety and corner. i think we need one of each but see whats pops up in spring and see who kills it.

Good points. I think team is set at safety. Grant will be much better this year with two healthy legs. Deuce is Deuce and that’s ok. I really like Samuel to play day 1 at safety.

 

[MSOrange]

If Blumfield can do the following ST basics in priority order, I'll be happy:

• devise blocking schemes to keep punts from being blocked (something most teams can successfully do)
• good punt and kickoff coverage
• identify the best kicker out of training camp (something we failed to do last season)
• if we want to keep Pena off ST this year to prevent injury, that's fine. But figure out the punt and kick returners leading into the season.

Basically do the job of a special teams coach.

 

[shu 49]

Good points. I think team is set at safety. Grant will be much better this year with two healthy legs. Deuce is Deuce and that’s ok. I really like Samuel to play day 1 at safety.

Im hoping but thats a big job at this level. He has the talent.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Sports fans, this is really simple.

It's nearly impossible for us to have worse special teams than we did this season.

Fine hire.