SWC75
Bored Historian
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Then: “The good news is that we’ve got edge rushers galore. Coleman and Robinson are probably the best tandem in the country and probably both headed for the NFL. When Brandon Berry and Kingsley Jonathan, (nope, he’s not Jonathan Kingsley), spell them, we don’t lose much. Surprisingly, in another year when we have to totally rebuild the linebacking corps, the highly touted Tyrell Richards has been moved to DE, although Babers has said that he will play both positions a lot. That gives Dino the sort of talent and depth at the two end positions he wants to have at all positions someday.”
“We’ve lost man-mountain Chris Slayton to graduation. He ate up blockers to allow those edge rushers to do their thing. The leading candidate to replace him in that role, McKinley “Bear” Williams, is out with a lower body injury and it’s not known for how long…. We just have too many places where we can’t afford to lose guys. Another issue is that this unit has 6 seniors, which is good for this year but bad for next year. That’s why it’s important, whatever happens in the Clemson game, that we get over it and go on to have another strong season to set Dino up for another big recruiting year and another one the year after that. Then we’ll have enough depth that if we lose a player, it’s a big problem for him but not for us because we’d got guys just as good behind him. We aren’t there yet.”
Now: Perhaps our greatest asset going into the season was that our two defensive ends, Alton Robinson and Kendall Coleman were as good as anybody’s. In 2018 they totaled 20 sacks, (10 each) and 29 tackles for losses. But the fear that the loss of Slayton and the injury to Williams might reduce their output as the opposition could give our two stars some extra attention in their blocking schemes came true: Robinson and Coleman totaled 8.5 sacks and 20 TFLs. Williams played the last couple of games and will be back next year and Josh Black, one of the two tackles who played most of the year. But Robinson and Coleman will be gone as well as one of their back-ups, Brandon Berry. Kingsley Jonathan will be a senior next year and Tyrell Richards is a bit undersized at 6-4 230. We’d better do some major recruiting in this area.
Then: “For the second straight year all of our starting linebackers graduated. Dino told the press that that is never going to happen again- the starting line-up will not be all seniors in the future. Just looking at the defensive rosters I count 18 defensive linemen, 22 defensive backs and only 8 linebackers. Of course there are only three linebacking positions compared to 4 for the line and backfield but the numbers are still out of whack.”
“This puts a lot of pressure on the few experienced players we have left in this unit and creates opportunities for the freshmen. Andrew Armstrong is “known for his versatility, having practiced at all three linebacker spots”. He will likely be the “Will”, (weakside linebacker not facing the other team’s tight end), this year, despite being the largest of the eight listed line backs at 6-2, 230...Lakiem Williams transferred in from the same junior college Clayton Welch came from. He’s been a weight room star. He’ll be the “Mike”, (the middle linebacker). “Williams resembles the sort of build we used to see more in SU middle linebackers — 6-feet and around 225-230 pounds. His spot will likely be one opponents test early as they won’t have much tape to go off.” Tyrell Richards would make sense as a “Sam”, (the strong side linebacker who faces the tight end), being a sort of linebacker/defensive end hybrid. “He has the frame to play in the ACC…He had 16 tackles, three sacks and a pick last season, and the impressive athlete is anxious for more this season. “
Now: We often went with two linebackers and a “nickel” defensive back. That meant that Armstrong and Williams saw most of the action and they are: you guessed it – seniors. That means for the third straight year we’ll have a new set of starting linebackers. Armstrong had an up-and-down season but Williams was probably our most consistent defensive player. Richards surely has a future here but it remains to be seen whether it will be at linebacker or defensive end. So we will be starting over again.
Then: “Juan Wallace was a high school teammate of Ed Hendrix and IMG Academy, where many top prospects come from. From last year’s preview: “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.”
“The gems of the recruiting class were four star, (meaning they project as college stars: five stars project as an All-American), linebackers Mikel Jones and Lee Kpogba, (pronounced 'Ko-buh'). Both entered school in January to get an early start and have experienced both spring and fall practice. Jones “is one of two true freshman phenoms that’s been on campus since January and is looking to show why they received four stars from at least one recruiting service each. He’s already right behind Armstrong at weakside linebacker, and at 212 pounds, he’s built almost built more like a safety.” Kpogba’s “a force as a pass-rusher and a fantastic athlete that played both ways in high school. Since he’s been on campus all year, there’s a shot we see him on the field in some capacity for 2019”.
Now: Jones got the most minutes behind Armstrong and Williams as a true freshman and had 19 tackles, suggesting he’s at the beginning of a great career here, although at 6-2 212 he’s undersized. Wallace played in 11 games but had just 7 tackles. Kpogba played on special teams. So it will be another total rebuild of this unit, although these guys are pretty good pieces.
Then: “We’ve got a group of seniors who have played a lot of football. At one time Antwan Cordy was considered our best defensive back, maybe the best player on the team. He was a good cover guy and a bone-rattling tackler. He did some kick-returning and was said to be one of the fastest players on the team, although as a safety, he didn’t get a lot of chances to show it off. Then he was injured and out for the season in consecutive opening games in 2016 and 2017. Going through the injuries, the surgeries and the endless rehabs without playing the game seemed last year to have taken a lot out of him and he didn’t seem like the same player. But he got additional eligibility from the NCAA for his injuries so he’s back to try it again. If he’s got his mojo back, he could be a big asset. His problem is that Andre Cisco’s got his old job….Evan Foster is our biggest D-back at 215 pounds. Nunes: “improved by leaps and bounds and teamed with Cisco to become a feared group at the back of the defense. His 86 tackles were a big number”. He’s hoping to play on Sundays in the future. The corners are Chris Frederick and Scoop Bradshaw. Frederick will make a run at all-ACC status this year and could also interest the NFL.”
Now: Cordy finally got back onto the field when we had some injuries at cornerback. He played hard as always but at 5-8 he was not an ideal cornerback and the opposition was able to exploit him with their tallest receiver. Foster had 76 tackles, a productive year but not quite as big a number. I recall him being caught out of position multiple times in that big second quarter by BC. Frederick had a good senior year, although he showed a tendency toward excessive celebrations and the penalties and coach’s glares they bring. Bradshaw’s playing time diminished as the young d-backs became more and more prominent.
Then: “These guys would make a good defensive backfield with a decent two deep. But here comes the sophomores, an outstanding class of potential stars, one of whom already is one. Here’s what Andre Cisco did in his freshman season, (per Cuse.com): “Received All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation (second team), Sporting News (second team), Associated Press (third team), Athlon (fourth team), Phil Steele (fourth team) and College Football News (honorable mention) ... Only true freshman to be voted a Walter Camp All-American out of the 50 players selected for the two teams ... Tabbed a freshman All-American by the FWAA, ESPN, 247Sports.com, USA Today and The Athletic ... ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year ... ECAC Defensive Rookie of the Year ... All-ACC First Team ... Associated Press All-ACC First Team ... All-ECAC First Team… Tied Boston College’s Hamp Cheevers for the national lead with seven interceptions.”
“But the gem of the recruiting class was supposed to be, (and I’ll use his whole name because I love it), Atrilleon Williams, “Trill” for short. I think his parents had future contract negotiations in mind when they named him. He was rated a 4 star recruit, even though he went to Syracuse instead of one of the powerhouses, (your rating tends to go up or down depending on which school you choose). He made the two-deep as soon as he showed up last year. He’s big and fast at 6-2 200 and “can also make things happen with the ball in his hands… Trill will be the starter at nickel corner this year after impressing in spot action last year.”
Ifeatu Melifonwu, (Eh-FAH-too Mel-eh-FON-wu), “is the younger brother of the Oakland Raiders freakishly athletic defensive back, Obi Melifonfu”. He’s pretty freakishly talented, too… Nunes: “He allowed less than 50% completions and zero touchdowns, while breaking up four passes. It shouldn’t surprise that he grabbed one of the starting corner roles in the preseason depth chart.”
Syracuse’s defensive tackles coach is Vinson Reynolds. His stepson is Eric Coley, who moved here from Michigan when Reynolds got the job. He played football for Fayetteville-Manlius, where they’d never seen anything like him. “As a senior, rushed for 1,295 yards on 129 carries (10.0 avg.) and 17 touchdowns … Averaged 215.8 yards rushing per game … Defensively, registered 70 tackles, including eight for a loss, five sacks and one fumble recovery.” The local news had clip after clip of him running right through teams and scoring almost at will. He looked like he’d be a huge star at Syracuse but the staff put him at defensive safety. He seemed like an ideal kick returner but has yet to return a kick. He’s also struck behind Cisco, Foster, Clarke and Cordy at safety. Still, I think he has the natural ability to someday form a great defensive backfield with his fellow sophomores Cisco, Williams and Melifonwu.”
Now: Cisco missed three game but intercepted 5 more passes, returning one for a touchdown. He also proved a much better tackler, with 46 of them. he’s becoming an all-around defensive back, not just a “center fielder”. Williams was also hurt and missed a game but had 38 tackles and a pick. But what everyone will remember was his dramatic theft of the ball from a Wake Forest receiver who was dancing around in front of our goal line, looking for the best route to the winning score in OT. It was technically a fumble but in any case, Trill took it the distance to close out the season on a favorable note. Melifonwu also missed three game and had only 18 tackles but led the team in pass break-ups with 8. Coley still isn’t returning kicks but he saw more and more playing time and wound up with 48 tackles and a pick. These guys are clearly the future of the defensive backfield and it’s bright, providing these guys can stay healthy.
Then: “We had the best special teams in the country last year, bar none. That and the turnover margin were the biggest reason for the sudden turn-around in the won-lost record. If we hope to stay at this level we’ve got to, well, stay at this level.
The great hidden stat last year was field position. We averaged starting our drives on the 35 yard line and our opponents averaged starting on the 27. That may seem like a small difference but we were #2 in the country in the first of those stats and #21 in the second. There are about 15 possessions per team per game so 35-27 is a difference of about 120 hidden yards per game. Hofrichter did all 101 kick-offs and 67 of the 68 punts, (DeVito pooched a kick). He averaged 60 yards per kick-off and 43 yards per punt. We were 22nd in kickoff return defense and 38th in punting. The later stat under-rates him as he’s shown great versatility with his punting: booming it when we need to get it out of a hole, placing it when we are kicking to their goal line and making the Australian rule kick, (rolling out and punting along the sidelines), in the face of a rush.”
Now: This year we averaged starting our drives on our 32, our opponents on their 27, so the advantage was slightly reduced but still there. The same was true with our turnover margin, from +13 in 2018 to +9 in 2019 but still an advantage. The third big stat that helped us last year was 3rd and 4th down conversion rate. In 2018 we converted 41.3% of ours to 30.3% for the opposition. In 2019 we converted 38.2% of ours but the opposition rose to 42.2%, a big impact on our season. Sterling Hofrichter in 2018 had kicked off 101 times for an average of 60.2 yards, (the end zone is 65 yards). 22 of those were returned for an average of 18.3 yards. In 2019 he only kicked off 64 times. 19 of those were returned for an average of 24.2 yards, so his performance declined a bit there but was still very good. In 2018 he punted 67 times for a 42.9 average. 16 of them were returned for a 9.9 average. In 2019 he raised that performance to an exceptional 69 punts at a 43.9 average with only 10 returns for a paltry 1.7 average. He’s going to be very difficult to replace. We’ve seen some excellent punters in the Dome: Pat O’Neil, Sean Reali, Brendan Carney, Rob Long, riley Dixon and Sterling. I hope we can come up with another like that. If we don’t it’s going to be VERY noticeable.
Then: “The place-kicking job was wide open last year. A walk-on named Andre Szmyt (Schmidt) seemed to hit every kick so they tried him. He proceeded to hit an astonishing 30 of 34 field goals, including 3 for 3 from 50+ yards with a high of 54 and making all 61 extra points. He was second in the nation in scoring with 151 points. (Clemson’s Travis Etienne passing him in the national championship game – his 15th game to Andre’s 14). “First Syracuse player to win the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top placekicker … Third freshman to capture the Groza, joining Arizona State’s Thomas Weber (2007) and Florida State’s Roberto Aguayo (2013) ... Unanimous All-American, earning first-team honors from the Associated Press, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp Football Foundation and Sporting News ... Ninth unanimous All-American in team history and first since Dwight Freeney in 2001.” The only issue is whether he can maintain that level of performance in a job prone to ups and downs.”
Now: Andre didn’t set any new records and didn’t win the Groza Award. But he was still one of the best kickers around. He kicked 17 of 20 field goals, giving him 47 of 54 halfway through his career. He missed an extra point but kicked the other 39, giving him 100 out of 101 for his career. He also won his duel with Wake Forest’s Nick Sciba, who had set a record making 32 consecutive field goals, (which he extended to 34),making good on all four of his kicks while Sciba missed one of his five, enabling us to win in overtime on Trill Williams’s now famous swipe. As long as Andre is here, we have no worries in the place-kicking department. Long snapper Aaron Bolinsky and holder Nolan Cooney will be back, too.
Then: “Nobody’s listed strictly as a kick-returner on the roster. This is from the depth chart. Sean Riley was second in the nation in punt returns last year and led for several weeks. Johnson is a similar player. There are several other players who were experienced kick returners in high school. Some of them may succeed these two one day. Trill Williams averaged 19.7 yards per punt return in high school and I would love to see Eric Coley get his hands on the ball. We haven’t returned a kickoff for a touchdown in this decade.”
Now: We still haven’t. Sean Riley and Nykeim Johnson returned all 16 punts for an 8.6 average and never scored, (their best was a 34 yarder by Riley). They returned 21 of our 34 kickoffs for a 17.8 average and a high of 31 yards by Nykeim. 9 others were taken by up-backs, including Chris Elmore. The big hope here is Jawhar Jordan, who returned 4 kicks for a 28.5 average, one of them going 48 yards. It can sure turn a game around to take a kick the distance. (And I’d still like to see Eric Coley given a shot at this, too.) Blocked kicks can do the same. We got one this year. With all the speed we’ve recruited, maybe we can get a couple more?
Overall: I think we’ll score more points next year and do it consistently, rather than in spurts. The line should be solid, the backs talented and Tommy DeVito and all that receiving talent is due to bust out. We may have to score a lot because of what we’ve lost in the defensive front seven. This year our defense was terrible in three games, not very good in two others but OK and occasionally dominant in the rest. A lot this year will depend on who the new defensive coordinator is. The backfield should be very good. Szmyt’s place kicking should continue to be excellent and the return game more dynamic but we’ll have to see who can replace Hofrichter. I think we’ll be better but that the next big year will be 2021. Then it will be interesting to see how much we have to rebuild and how much we can reload. At least we are rid of our wax wings.
“We’ve lost man-mountain Chris Slayton to graduation. He ate up blockers to allow those edge rushers to do their thing. The leading candidate to replace him in that role, McKinley “Bear” Williams, is out with a lower body injury and it’s not known for how long…. We just have too many places where we can’t afford to lose guys. Another issue is that this unit has 6 seniors, which is good for this year but bad for next year. That’s why it’s important, whatever happens in the Clemson game, that we get over it and go on to have another strong season to set Dino up for another big recruiting year and another one the year after that. Then we’ll have enough depth that if we lose a player, it’s a big problem for him but not for us because we’d got guys just as good behind him. We aren’t there yet.”
Now: Perhaps our greatest asset going into the season was that our two defensive ends, Alton Robinson and Kendall Coleman were as good as anybody’s. In 2018 they totaled 20 sacks, (10 each) and 29 tackles for losses. But the fear that the loss of Slayton and the injury to Williams might reduce their output as the opposition could give our two stars some extra attention in their blocking schemes came true: Robinson and Coleman totaled 8.5 sacks and 20 TFLs. Williams played the last couple of games and will be back next year and Josh Black, one of the two tackles who played most of the year. But Robinson and Coleman will be gone as well as one of their back-ups, Brandon Berry. Kingsley Jonathan will be a senior next year and Tyrell Richards is a bit undersized at 6-4 230. We’d better do some major recruiting in this area.
Then: “For the second straight year all of our starting linebackers graduated. Dino told the press that that is never going to happen again- the starting line-up will not be all seniors in the future. Just looking at the defensive rosters I count 18 defensive linemen, 22 defensive backs and only 8 linebackers. Of course there are only three linebacking positions compared to 4 for the line and backfield but the numbers are still out of whack.”
“This puts a lot of pressure on the few experienced players we have left in this unit and creates opportunities for the freshmen. Andrew Armstrong is “known for his versatility, having practiced at all three linebacker spots”. He will likely be the “Will”, (weakside linebacker not facing the other team’s tight end), this year, despite being the largest of the eight listed line backs at 6-2, 230...Lakiem Williams transferred in from the same junior college Clayton Welch came from. He’s been a weight room star. He’ll be the “Mike”, (the middle linebacker). “Williams resembles the sort of build we used to see more in SU middle linebackers — 6-feet and around 225-230 pounds. His spot will likely be one opponents test early as they won’t have much tape to go off.” Tyrell Richards would make sense as a “Sam”, (the strong side linebacker who faces the tight end), being a sort of linebacker/defensive end hybrid. “He has the frame to play in the ACC…He had 16 tackles, three sacks and a pick last season, and the impressive athlete is anxious for more this season. “
Now: We often went with two linebackers and a “nickel” defensive back. That meant that Armstrong and Williams saw most of the action and they are: you guessed it – seniors. That means for the third straight year we’ll have a new set of starting linebackers. Armstrong had an up-and-down season but Williams was probably our most consistent defensive player. Richards surely has a future here but it remains to be seen whether it will be at linebacker or defensive end. So we will be starting over again.
Then: “Juan Wallace was a high school teammate of Ed Hendrix and IMG Academy, where many top prospects come from. From last year’s preview: “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.”
“The gems of the recruiting class were four star, (meaning they project as college stars: five stars project as an All-American), linebackers Mikel Jones and Lee Kpogba, (pronounced 'Ko-buh'). Both entered school in January to get an early start and have experienced both spring and fall practice. Jones “is one of two true freshman phenoms that’s been on campus since January and is looking to show why they received four stars from at least one recruiting service each. He’s already right behind Armstrong at weakside linebacker, and at 212 pounds, he’s built almost built more like a safety.” Kpogba’s “a force as a pass-rusher and a fantastic athlete that played both ways in high school. Since he’s been on campus all year, there’s a shot we see him on the field in some capacity for 2019”.
Now: Jones got the most minutes behind Armstrong and Williams as a true freshman and had 19 tackles, suggesting he’s at the beginning of a great career here, although at 6-2 212 he’s undersized. Wallace played in 11 games but had just 7 tackles. Kpogba played on special teams. So it will be another total rebuild of this unit, although these guys are pretty good pieces.
Then: “We’ve got a group of seniors who have played a lot of football. At one time Antwan Cordy was considered our best defensive back, maybe the best player on the team. He was a good cover guy and a bone-rattling tackler. He did some kick-returning and was said to be one of the fastest players on the team, although as a safety, he didn’t get a lot of chances to show it off. Then he was injured and out for the season in consecutive opening games in 2016 and 2017. Going through the injuries, the surgeries and the endless rehabs without playing the game seemed last year to have taken a lot out of him and he didn’t seem like the same player. But he got additional eligibility from the NCAA for his injuries so he’s back to try it again. If he’s got his mojo back, he could be a big asset. His problem is that Andre Cisco’s got his old job….Evan Foster is our biggest D-back at 215 pounds. Nunes: “improved by leaps and bounds and teamed with Cisco to become a feared group at the back of the defense. His 86 tackles were a big number”. He’s hoping to play on Sundays in the future. The corners are Chris Frederick and Scoop Bradshaw. Frederick will make a run at all-ACC status this year and could also interest the NFL.”
Now: Cordy finally got back onto the field when we had some injuries at cornerback. He played hard as always but at 5-8 he was not an ideal cornerback and the opposition was able to exploit him with their tallest receiver. Foster had 76 tackles, a productive year but not quite as big a number. I recall him being caught out of position multiple times in that big second quarter by BC. Frederick had a good senior year, although he showed a tendency toward excessive celebrations and the penalties and coach’s glares they bring. Bradshaw’s playing time diminished as the young d-backs became more and more prominent.
Then: “These guys would make a good defensive backfield with a decent two deep. But here comes the sophomores, an outstanding class of potential stars, one of whom already is one. Here’s what Andre Cisco did in his freshman season, (per Cuse.com): “Received All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation (second team), Sporting News (second team), Associated Press (third team), Athlon (fourth team), Phil Steele (fourth team) and College Football News (honorable mention) ... Only true freshman to be voted a Walter Camp All-American out of the 50 players selected for the two teams ... Tabbed a freshman All-American by the FWAA, ESPN, 247Sports.com, USA Today and The Athletic ... ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year ... ECAC Defensive Rookie of the Year ... All-ACC First Team ... Associated Press All-ACC First Team ... All-ECAC First Team… Tied Boston College’s Hamp Cheevers for the national lead with seven interceptions.”
“But the gem of the recruiting class was supposed to be, (and I’ll use his whole name because I love it), Atrilleon Williams, “Trill” for short. I think his parents had future contract negotiations in mind when they named him. He was rated a 4 star recruit, even though he went to Syracuse instead of one of the powerhouses, (your rating tends to go up or down depending on which school you choose). He made the two-deep as soon as he showed up last year. He’s big and fast at 6-2 200 and “can also make things happen with the ball in his hands… Trill will be the starter at nickel corner this year after impressing in spot action last year.”
Ifeatu Melifonwu, (Eh-FAH-too Mel-eh-FON-wu), “is the younger brother of the Oakland Raiders freakishly athletic defensive back, Obi Melifonfu”. He’s pretty freakishly talented, too… Nunes: “He allowed less than 50% completions and zero touchdowns, while breaking up four passes. It shouldn’t surprise that he grabbed one of the starting corner roles in the preseason depth chart.”
Syracuse’s defensive tackles coach is Vinson Reynolds. His stepson is Eric Coley, who moved here from Michigan when Reynolds got the job. He played football for Fayetteville-Manlius, where they’d never seen anything like him. “As a senior, rushed for 1,295 yards on 129 carries (10.0 avg.) and 17 touchdowns … Averaged 215.8 yards rushing per game … Defensively, registered 70 tackles, including eight for a loss, five sacks and one fumble recovery.” The local news had clip after clip of him running right through teams and scoring almost at will. He looked like he’d be a huge star at Syracuse but the staff put him at defensive safety. He seemed like an ideal kick returner but has yet to return a kick. He’s also struck behind Cisco, Foster, Clarke and Cordy at safety. Still, I think he has the natural ability to someday form a great defensive backfield with his fellow sophomores Cisco, Williams and Melifonwu.”
Now: Cisco missed three game but intercepted 5 more passes, returning one for a touchdown. He also proved a much better tackler, with 46 of them. he’s becoming an all-around defensive back, not just a “center fielder”. Williams was also hurt and missed a game but had 38 tackles and a pick. But what everyone will remember was his dramatic theft of the ball from a Wake Forest receiver who was dancing around in front of our goal line, looking for the best route to the winning score in OT. It was technically a fumble but in any case, Trill took it the distance to close out the season on a favorable note. Melifonwu also missed three game and had only 18 tackles but led the team in pass break-ups with 8. Coley still isn’t returning kicks but he saw more and more playing time and wound up with 48 tackles and a pick. These guys are clearly the future of the defensive backfield and it’s bright, providing these guys can stay healthy.
Then: “We had the best special teams in the country last year, bar none. That and the turnover margin were the biggest reason for the sudden turn-around in the won-lost record. If we hope to stay at this level we’ve got to, well, stay at this level.
The great hidden stat last year was field position. We averaged starting our drives on the 35 yard line and our opponents averaged starting on the 27. That may seem like a small difference but we were #2 in the country in the first of those stats and #21 in the second. There are about 15 possessions per team per game so 35-27 is a difference of about 120 hidden yards per game. Hofrichter did all 101 kick-offs and 67 of the 68 punts, (DeVito pooched a kick). He averaged 60 yards per kick-off and 43 yards per punt. We were 22nd in kickoff return defense and 38th in punting. The later stat under-rates him as he’s shown great versatility with his punting: booming it when we need to get it out of a hole, placing it when we are kicking to their goal line and making the Australian rule kick, (rolling out and punting along the sidelines), in the face of a rush.”
Now: This year we averaged starting our drives on our 32, our opponents on their 27, so the advantage was slightly reduced but still there. The same was true with our turnover margin, from +13 in 2018 to +9 in 2019 but still an advantage. The third big stat that helped us last year was 3rd and 4th down conversion rate. In 2018 we converted 41.3% of ours to 30.3% for the opposition. In 2019 we converted 38.2% of ours but the opposition rose to 42.2%, a big impact on our season. Sterling Hofrichter in 2018 had kicked off 101 times for an average of 60.2 yards, (the end zone is 65 yards). 22 of those were returned for an average of 18.3 yards. In 2019 he only kicked off 64 times. 19 of those were returned for an average of 24.2 yards, so his performance declined a bit there but was still very good. In 2018 he punted 67 times for a 42.9 average. 16 of them were returned for a 9.9 average. In 2019 he raised that performance to an exceptional 69 punts at a 43.9 average with only 10 returns for a paltry 1.7 average. He’s going to be very difficult to replace. We’ve seen some excellent punters in the Dome: Pat O’Neil, Sean Reali, Brendan Carney, Rob Long, riley Dixon and Sterling. I hope we can come up with another like that. If we don’t it’s going to be VERY noticeable.
Then: “The place-kicking job was wide open last year. A walk-on named Andre Szmyt (Schmidt) seemed to hit every kick so they tried him. He proceeded to hit an astonishing 30 of 34 field goals, including 3 for 3 from 50+ yards with a high of 54 and making all 61 extra points. He was second in the nation in scoring with 151 points. (Clemson’s Travis Etienne passing him in the national championship game – his 15th game to Andre’s 14). “First Syracuse player to win the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top placekicker … Third freshman to capture the Groza, joining Arizona State’s Thomas Weber (2007) and Florida State’s Roberto Aguayo (2013) ... Unanimous All-American, earning first-team honors from the Associated Press, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp Football Foundation and Sporting News ... Ninth unanimous All-American in team history and first since Dwight Freeney in 2001.” The only issue is whether he can maintain that level of performance in a job prone to ups and downs.”
Now: Andre didn’t set any new records and didn’t win the Groza Award. But he was still one of the best kickers around. He kicked 17 of 20 field goals, giving him 47 of 54 halfway through his career. He missed an extra point but kicked the other 39, giving him 100 out of 101 for his career. He also won his duel with Wake Forest’s Nick Sciba, who had set a record making 32 consecutive field goals, (which he extended to 34),making good on all four of his kicks while Sciba missed one of his five, enabling us to win in overtime on Trill Williams’s now famous swipe. As long as Andre is here, we have no worries in the place-kicking department. Long snapper Aaron Bolinsky and holder Nolan Cooney will be back, too.
Then: “Nobody’s listed strictly as a kick-returner on the roster. This is from the depth chart. Sean Riley was second in the nation in punt returns last year and led for several weeks. Johnson is a similar player. There are several other players who were experienced kick returners in high school. Some of them may succeed these two one day. Trill Williams averaged 19.7 yards per punt return in high school and I would love to see Eric Coley get his hands on the ball. We haven’t returned a kickoff for a touchdown in this decade.”
Now: We still haven’t. Sean Riley and Nykeim Johnson returned all 16 punts for an 8.6 average and never scored, (their best was a 34 yarder by Riley). They returned 21 of our 34 kickoffs for a 17.8 average and a high of 31 yards by Nykeim. 9 others were taken by up-backs, including Chris Elmore. The big hope here is Jawhar Jordan, who returned 4 kicks for a 28.5 average, one of them going 48 yards. It can sure turn a game around to take a kick the distance. (And I’d still like to see Eric Coley given a shot at this, too.) Blocked kicks can do the same. We got one this year. With all the speed we’ve recruited, maybe we can get a couple more?
Overall: I think we’ll score more points next year and do it consistently, rather than in spurts. The line should be solid, the backs talented and Tommy DeVito and all that receiving talent is due to bust out. We may have to score a lot because of what we’ve lost in the defensive front seven. This year our defense was terrible in three games, not very good in two others but OK and occasionally dominant in the rest. A lot this year will depend on who the new defensive coordinator is. The backfield should be very good. Szmyt’s place kicking should continue to be excellent and the return game more dynamic but we’ll have to see who can replace Hofrichter. I think we’ll be better but that the next big year will be 2021. Then it will be interesting to see how much we have to rebuild and how much we can reload. At least we are rid of our wax wings.
