sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 26,692
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I will temporarily be filling in for my good friend OE as he recovers from surgery. Get well soon Dan.
Current Players
AAM Playing Well in Early Spring Practice Sessions (PS; Mink)
Syracuse hit the practice field in full pads Tuesday afternoon and spent about 20 minutes in a split-squad scrimmage. It was the first practice of the spring involving live hitting.
» Spring practice schedule | Pre-spring depth chart
"It was lively," second-year head coach Scott Shafer said. "Today we had a chance to play some real football." Practice remained closed to the media, but Shafer ran through some of the highlights of the day, including a 50-yard completion from quarterback Terrel Hunt to Jarrod West down the sideline.
It was an encouraging sign for an offense that lacked consistency in the downfield passing game last year. If Syracuse is going to build off its 7-6 record, it must be better through the air.
The ground game?
That should still be a strength. Shafer said redshirt sophomore George Morris II scooted for a long gain during the scrimmage, and all three of the team's top backs have been steady through the first week of practice.
If there's one who has turned heads early, however, it would be senior Adonis Ameen-Moore, a tank of a back who contributed in Nathaniel Hackett's offense only to see his role completely dissipate last year.
Shafer said Moore "had a couple runs inside that were impressive where he was dragging guys down the field."
"Adonis is the guy that is coming on," Shafer said. "I think he sees some light at the end of the tunnel, and he's pushing those guys."
SU WR Quinta Funderburk Emerges as a Standout in Early Spring Practices (PS; Mink)
"I think he's really earned the opportunity to be a two and to compete to get more playing time," McDonald said. "He's done a lot of good things off the field in terms of academics, getting his stuff together that way, and at the end of the season he really made some big catches that helped us. He's earned the right to stay there."
Funderburk finished the year with three catches, but how many were bigger than the one he hauled in midway through the fourth quarter in the come-from-behind victory against Boston College in the regular-season finale?
Six Thoughts on SU Football Pro Day (PS: Mink)
Some quick thoughts:
1. Jerome Smith will garner a lot of attention after a disappointing showing at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Smith posted an official time of 4.84 seconds in the 40-yard dash, ranking 30th out of 33 running backs who ran at the combine. Afterward, he said he was "overly anxious and had a bunch of butterflies" before running his 40.
2. Jay Bromley won't do many testing drills after performing well at the combine. He is currently ranked as the 21st-best defensive tackle in the draft, according to CBS Sports. After the combine, Bromley said he didn't think "you can take 10 defensive tackles before me."
3. Drew Allen will be participating in his second pro day after working out at Oklahoma earlier this month. Allen performed well at OU's pro day, posting a 4.68 time in the 40-yard dash. Allen spent the offseason training with former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia.
4. Keon Lyn and Beckett Wales are coming off season-ending injuries, so it will be interesting to hear how well they perform in testing and on-field drills. Wales broke his collarbone late in the season, while Lyn spent most of the last several months rehabbing his fractured kneecap...
ACC Conference News
2013-14 Was the Season ACC Football Took Supremacy Over ACC Basketball (ESPN: AA)
Is this a bizarro world?
It certainly feels that way today, especially when you consider recent additions Pitt and Syracuse were supposed to make the ACC a formidable, unstoppable, all-encompassing basketball force. Louisville, which will come into the league in July, is in the Sweet 16 but the American conference gets credit for that in 2014. The fact remains the traditional hoops powers -- Duke, Syracuse and North Carolina -- all failed to deliver.
But on the football side, traditional football powers finally came through. Indeed, the ACC has the reigning national champs in Florida State and another top-10 presence in Clemson. Both made BCS bowl games -- the rough equivalent of the Elite 8 perhaps -- and helped tidy up ACC football perception. The aforementioned Duke Blue Devils, meanwhile, made the ACC championship game and finished with 10 wins for the first time ever. Yes, Duke football ended up with a better year than Duke basketball. Let that one sink in.
None of this happened overnight. For years, we have heard about the need for the ACC to raise its football profile. People may want to associate the ACC with hoops, but football pays the bills and -- to a large extent -- frames the national narrative about what youshould believe about a specific conference. When the ACC failed to place teams in the national championship game, it was painted as a step behind the SEC.
Athlon Ranks the Rosters of ACC Schools
Syracuse finishes 12.
Tough road for the new kids on the block
Syracuse has the 12th-best roster in the ACC heading into 2014. It definitely feels like the Orange will settle in as just another middle of the pack ACC squad on the football field. Pitt and Louisville have significantly more talented rosters but are still well behind the top of the conference when it comes to recruiting. All three were accustomed to be near the top of the Big East recruiting rankings in their old stomping grounds. Now, however, the Cardinals have the seventh-best roster entering this summer while the Panthers check in at eighth. It will be an uphill battle for all three. - See more at: http://athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-accs-football-rosters-2014#sthash.4rIIqOJT.dpuf
Former Players
Brother of Mike Williams Surrenders After Stabbing Mike in the Leg
The brother of former Syracuse wide receiver Mike Williams turned himself into police Monday night and faces a charge of aggravated battery domestic violence following a stabbing incident over the weekend.
Williams, who signed a $40 million contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, was treated at a Tampa hospital Sunday night after being stabbed in the thigh at his area home.
His brother, 23-year-old Eric Baylor, of Buffalo, had an arrest warrant issued after differing versions of what happened emerged and because he had fled the scene.
When police first responded, witnesses described the incident as "horseplay and an accident," according to a report in the Tampa Tribune. But once sworn statements were taken, witnessed informed police Williams and his brother "were arguing and that led to the stabbing."
Current Players
AAM Playing Well in Early Spring Practice Sessions (PS; Mink)
Syracuse hit the practice field in full pads Tuesday afternoon and spent about 20 minutes in a split-squad scrimmage. It was the first practice of the spring involving live hitting.
» Spring practice schedule | Pre-spring depth chart
"It was lively," second-year head coach Scott Shafer said. "Today we had a chance to play some real football." Practice remained closed to the media, but Shafer ran through some of the highlights of the day, including a 50-yard completion from quarterback Terrel Hunt to Jarrod West down the sideline.
It was an encouraging sign for an offense that lacked consistency in the downfield passing game last year. If Syracuse is going to build off its 7-6 record, it must be better through the air.
The ground game?
That should still be a strength. Shafer said redshirt sophomore George Morris II scooted for a long gain during the scrimmage, and all three of the team's top backs have been steady through the first week of practice.
If there's one who has turned heads early, however, it would be senior Adonis Ameen-Moore, a tank of a back who contributed in Nathaniel Hackett's offense only to see his role completely dissipate last year.
Shafer said Moore "had a couple runs inside that were impressive where he was dragging guys down the field."
"Adonis is the guy that is coming on," Shafer said. "I think he sees some light at the end of the tunnel, and he's pushing those guys."
SU WR Quinta Funderburk Emerges as a Standout in Early Spring Practices (PS; Mink)
"I think he's really earned the opportunity to be a two and to compete to get more playing time," McDonald said. "He's done a lot of good things off the field in terms of academics, getting his stuff together that way, and at the end of the season he really made some big catches that helped us. He's earned the right to stay there."
Funderburk finished the year with three catches, but how many were bigger than the one he hauled in midway through the fourth quarter in the come-from-behind victory against Boston College in the regular-season finale?
Six Thoughts on SU Football Pro Day (PS: Mink)
Some quick thoughts:
1. Jerome Smith will garner a lot of attention after a disappointing showing at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Smith posted an official time of 4.84 seconds in the 40-yard dash, ranking 30th out of 33 running backs who ran at the combine. Afterward, he said he was "overly anxious and had a bunch of butterflies" before running his 40.
2. Jay Bromley won't do many testing drills after performing well at the combine. He is currently ranked as the 21st-best defensive tackle in the draft, according to CBS Sports. After the combine, Bromley said he didn't think "you can take 10 defensive tackles before me."
3. Drew Allen will be participating in his second pro day after working out at Oklahoma earlier this month. Allen performed well at OU's pro day, posting a 4.68 time in the 40-yard dash. Allen spent the offseason training with former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia.
4. Keon Lyn and Beckett Wales are coming off season-ending injuries, so it will be interesting to hear how well they perform in testing and on-field drills. Wales broke his collarbone late in the season, while Lyn spent most of the last several months rehabbing his fractured kneecap...
ACC Conference News
2013-14 Was the Season ACC Football Took Supremacy Over ACC Basketball (ESPN: AA)
Is this a bizarro world?
It certainly feels that way today, especially when you consider recent additions Pitt and Syracuse were supposed to make the ACC a formidable, unstoppable, all-encompassing basketball force. Louisville, which will come into the league in July, is in the Sweet 16 but the American conference gets credit for that in 2014. The fact remains the traditional hoops powers -- Duke, Syracuse and North Carolina -- all failed to deliver.
But on the football side, traditional football powers finally came through. Indeed, the ACC has the reigning national champs in Florida State and another top-10 presence in Clemson. Both made BCS bowl games -- the rough equivalent of the Elite 8 perhaps -- and helped tidy up ACC football perception. The aforementioned Duke Blue Devils, meanwhile, made the ACC championship game and finished with 10 wins for the first time ever. Yes, Duke football ended up with a better year than Duke basketball. Let that one sink in.
None of this happened overnight. For years, we have heard about the need for the ACC to raise its football profile. People may want to associate the ACC with hoops, but football pays the bills and -- to a large extent -- frames the national narrative about what youshould believe about a specific conference. When the ACC failed to place teams in the national championship game, it was painted as a step behind the SEC.
Athlon Ranks the Rosters of ACC Schools
Syracuse finishes 12.
Tough road for the new kids on the block
Syracuse has the 12th-best roster in the ACC heading into 2014. It definitely feels like the Orange will settle in as just another middle of the pack ACC squad on the football field. Pitt and Louisville have significantly more talented rosters but are still well behind the top of the conference when it comes to recruiting. All three were accustomed to be near the top of the Big East recruiting rankings in their old stomping grounds. Now, however, the Cardinals have the seventh-best roster entering this summer while the Panthers check in at eighth. It will be an uphill battle for all three. - See more at: http://athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-accs-football-rosters-2014#sthash.4rIIqOJT.dpuf
Former Players
Brother of Mike Williams Surrenders After Stabbing Mike in the Leg
The brother of former Syracuse wide receiver Mike Williams turned himself into police Monday night and faces a charge of aggravated battery domestic violence following a stabbing incident over the weekend.
Williams, who signed a $40 million contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, was treated at a Tampa hospital Sunday night after being stabbed in the thigh at his area home.
His brother, 23-year-old Eric Baylor, of Buffalo, had an arrest warrant issued after differing versions of what happened emerged and because he had fled the scene.
When police first responded, witnesses described the incident as "horseplay and an accident," according to a report in the Tampa Tribune. But once sworn statements were taken, witnessed informed police Williams and his brother "were arguing and that led to the stabbing."
