The OL is a competitive advantage

[kcsu]

Its quite remarkable how much of an impact Schmidt has had. Outstanding hire.

Now, there are still some question marks -- can Vett hold up better inside at the point of attack? Does Davis have the lateral mobility to counter pass rush?

But for the OL to go from "worst case scenario" in 2020 to a potential positional unit of strength two years later -- what a transformation. And I'm guessing that there are guys on the two-deep who ware going to surprise some fans. Improved depth will also help the starters play better, avoid injuries, etc.

Here's hoping.

Coaching is one area that SU can and has to be good at. We are never going to be a 5 and 4 star recruiting school. Top 40 maybe so our coaches have to be good.
I think that this years group is as good as we have had since Paul was coaching and its going to make a huge difference.

 

[Cusefan69]

I am cautiously optimistic about the line. Most of the line is coming back from a season that saw them run block pretty good and pass block not as good (37 sacks allowed). That said if Bleich is healthy, Vet has gotten stronger so as not to allow the pocket to collapse from the center most plays and if Cruz is a strong rotation player than I think there's a good chance for the oline to be pretty good. I also think a healthy Chris Elmore can help pass block in certain sets from the RB position.

 

[JRHEETER]

Coaching is one area that SU can and has to be good at. We are never going to be a 5 and 4 star recruiting school. Top 40 maybe so our coaches have to be good.
I think that this years group is as good as we have had since Paul was coaching and its going to make a huge difference.

We can be a 5 and 4 star school if we have the right coaching that wins

Kids want to go where they can win

It takes time but if Dino can create a winning culture here….why not us?

 

[IthacaBarrel]

We can be a 5 and 4 star school if we have the right coaching that wins

Kids want to go where they can win

It takes time but if Dino can create a winning culture here….why not us?

No we can't, never have been and it's only gotten harder. Good coaching, solid scheme and solid development of the talent is the only path for success at Syracuse.

 

[JRHEETER]

No we can't, never have been and it's only gotten harder. Good coaching, solid scheme and solid development of the talent is the only path for success at Syracuse.

Okay Debbie downer

With that type of attitude you’re right!

 

[CbusCuse]

We can be a 5 and 4 star school if we have the right coaching that wins

Kids want to go where they can win

It takes time but if Dino can create a winning culture here….why not us?

I'd say we really won't ever have a chance to bring 5 star players in. its certainly possible to build up the program after consistently winning to where we are routinely getting a handful of 4 star players though. That would require a coach to do very well and want to stay in Syracuse and whatever money we would pay. I'm unsure of how likely that would be though.

 

[javadoc]

We can be a 5 and 4 star school if we have the right coaching that wins

Kids want to go where they can win

It takes time but if Dino can create a winning culture here….why not us?

Kind of a chicken and egg situation there, no? Where are the alphas?

 

[kcsu]

We can be a 5 and 4 star school if we have the right coaching that wins

Kids want to go where they can win

It takes time but if Dino can create a winning culture here….why not us?

I think that most of the 5 star kids as there are very few of them will be bought by NIL. We will get a few 4 stars but very few. Our bread and butter is going to be the 3 star kid that we coach up and use our NIL funds to retain

 

[Newhouser]

I like the experience, love the size, will wait and evaluate until we see the mobility. With Tucker they don't have to be great, just serviceable.

 

[TheCusian]

I'd say we really won't ever have a chance to bring 5 star players in. its certainly possible to build up the program after constituently winning to where we are routinely getting a handful of 4 star players though. That would require a coach to do very well and want to stay in Syracuse and whatever money we would pay. I'm unsure of how likely that would be though.

I agree with the 5* stuff. I don’t think paying the HC and staff will be as much of a hard slog as in the past - the big caveat being the growing chasm between SEC//B1G and the ACC.

On the talent front, the transfer rules make it more possible to assess and find talent more quickly.

Winning cures a lot though

 

[JRHEETER]

I’m just saying, if Dino is winning and getting players to the NFL that means something. Kids pay attention to that.

I’m not saying it’s happening next year but…….hey…..with the recent investments into facilities and other ventures. The dome upgrade to make it finally look and feel like we have a P5 venue

Those things matter.

I think we can get to the point where we can have more than a few 4 stars and once in a blue moon a 5 star but we have to win and we have to put kids in the NFL

 

[Bayside44]

Okay Debbie downer

With that type of attitude you’re right!

It's demographics. That ain't changing in our favor.

Good coaching though solves a lot of ills.

 

[qdawgg]

We can win with 3* recruits. You need a staff that can teach and the players coming in need 2-3 yrs. That’s okay but it’s important to have a steady pipeline because when you go multiple years getting large % of recruits that don’t pan out in a certain position, the results are obvious.

 

[Chip]

It's demographics. That ain't changing in our favor.

Good coaching though solves a lot of ills.

Yeah, I've accepted that a Dave Clawson/Wake model is our best case scenario.

Unless you start tapping into your Caymans bank account for some NIL money.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Yeah, I've accepted that a Dave Clawson/Wake model is our best case scenario.

Unless you start tapping into your Caymans bank account for some NIL money.

Bayside and Gene Hackman have a meeting next week in the Caymans to discuss exactly that

 

[RF2044]

Steering it back to OL, traditionally we've struggled to bring in quality OL, even dating back to when we were good. Our system / having mobile QBs who were elusive helped mask some of the problems.

I think we can expect that with continued success, we can see an uptick in recruiting at some positions -- DB is a good example, IMO, given the recent success we've had.

But OL is probably going to be a situation where we have to identify developmental types, and then coach them up. A young player like Magnuson -- just for example -- fits the mold. A tall kid [6-4+] who is reasonably athletic, but a bit undersized weight-wise, like in the 265 range. But because of their height, they have the size / frame to add "good" weight without sacrificing the athleticism. And then after a year or two of being immersed in our system, they are 290+ and can move their feet.

But the key is coaching.

 

[Millhouse]

That depends on the defense. If Louisville puts up a couple of quick touchdowns, that plan goes out the window.

It shouldn't. That's a cliche I've never understood, especially when your biggest home run threat is the rb

 

[RF2044]

It shouldn't. That's a cliche I've never understood, especially when your biggest home run threat is the rb

Not to mention, Louisville's defense was relatively poor last year, and they lost several key contributors.

Goal should be to pound them, keep their D on the field, and soften them up over the course of the game so that we can be in control down the stretch.

 

[Bayside44]

Yeah, I've accepted that a Dave Clawson/Wake model is our best case scenario.

Unless you start tapping into your Caymans bank account for some NIL money.

Wake has 27 in state kids on their roster.

 

[money3189]

Steering it back to OL, traditionally we've struggled to bring in quality OL, even dating back to when we were good. Our system / having mobile QBs who were elusive helped mask some of the problems.

I think we can expect that with continued success, we can see an uptick in recruiting at some positions -- DB is a good example, IMO, given the recent success we've had.

But OL is probably going to be a situation where we have to identify developmental types, and then coach them up. A young player like Magnuson -- just for example -- fits the mold. A tall kid [6-4+] who is reasonably athletic, but a bit undersized weight-wise, like in the 265 range. But because of their height, they have the size / frame to add "good" weight without sacrificing the athleticism. And then after a year or two of being immersed in our system, they are 290+ and can move their feet.

But the key is coaching.

Yup. Mark Baniewics comes to mind. Played against him in HS.

 

[shandeezy7]

Idk I think I'm going to miss the days of our OL looking FCS-sized when lining up opposite almost every P5 defensive line.

 

[BKCuse]

It feels like we have finally overcome the OL deficit we were in when Dino took over and then recruited thinner, faster linemen to run the hurry up.
I think we actually have an ACC quality OL at this point. I can’t wait to see them in action

 

[gmoney44]

No we can't, never have been and it's only gotten harder. Good coaching, solid scheme and solid development of the talent is the only path for success at Syracuse.

We got plenty of high 3 - high 4 star type guys in the 80’s and 90’s. Ya college football has changed a lot since then but if we win, beat some good programs and make the Dome exciting again we can absolutely get close to that level of recruiting again. But we got to start ripping of winning seasons.

 

[Chip]

It shouldn't. That's a cliche I've never understood, especially when your biggest home run threat is the rb

I think if we get down, say, 21-3, there's going to be a lot of "here we go again" on our sideline.

I'd be surprised if that's how things went down, but with SU football, much like my personal life, I've learned to be disappointed. A lot.

 

[JRHEETER]

We got plenty of high 3 - high 4 star type guys in the 80’s and 90’s. Ya college football has changed a lot since then but if we win, beat some good programs and make the Dome exciting again we can absolutely get close to that level of recruiting again. But we got to start ripping of winning seasons.

Exactly what I’m saying my man

Don’t forget we have NIL

Just because you guys don’t hear about it….there’s a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes with significant $