Know Your Enemy: Syracuse

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Strongest position: Linebacker


Key returnees: Senior Derrell Smith (81 tackles, 6.5 sacks, four forced fumbles in 10 games), senior Doug Hogue (16.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks), sophomore E.J. Carter (24 tackles, two sacks.
Key departure: Mike Stenclik graduated.
The skinny: The Orange also are in great shape at running back, with Delone Carter coming off a 1,000-yard season and Antwon Bailey returning as a change-of-pace/Wildcat guy. But I'm going with linebacker, where Smith and Hogue had tremendous seasons that were worthy of All-Big East recognition. Smith was a candidate for Big East defensive player of the year before his late-season injury. Carter got some valuable experience as a freshman as well. The group still needs more depth behind the starters, and Carter must continue to improve. But linebacker should be a source of strength for Syracuse this spring.
Weakest position: Receiver


Key returnees: Sophomore Alec Lemon (29 catches, 295 yards, one touchdown), junior Marcus Sales (28 catches, 324 yards, three touchdowns), junior Van Chew (six catches).
Key departures: Lavar Lobdell (10 catches for 67 yards) and Donte Davis (24 catches for 257 yards) graduated.
The skinny: After Mike Williams left the team midseason, Syracuse's passing game suffered mightily. Lemon and Sales played better at the end of the season, but the Orange don't have anyone who made as many as 30 catches last year. The receiving group as a whole is going to have to make strides this spring in order for the offense to be productive in the fall.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/8350/spring-superlatives-syracuse

 

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However, after the dreadful Greg Robinson era of Syracuse football in which the Orange won a total of 10 games in four years, last season’s 4-8 record under rookie head coach Doug Marrone can only be viewed as progress. In fact, all things considered, 2009 was probably about as successful as anyone could have reasonably hoped for.

And while the majority of the folks in Syracuse are currently focused on the fifth-ranked Orange basketball team and the impending madness of March, there is also some buzz surrounding the football program as spring practice approaches.

With all-Big East caliber players like Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue anchoring the defense, as well as talented young players like Shamarko Thomas, Alec Lemon, Phillip Thomas and Chandler Jones returning after strong freshman seasons, there is a lot to be optimistic about in Syracuse.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/347668-keeping-the-momentum-five-storylines-to-watch-for-in-syracuses-spring-practice#

 

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Led by linebacker Derrell Smith and coordinated by the maniacal Scott Shafer, each and every time the Syracuse defense took the field it was a pure blitzkrieg assault on the opposing offense. The Orange finished tied for 16th in the nation in sacks, and lead the Big East in rushing defense by allowing just a touch over 100 yards per game.

Sadly though, while most opposing running backs spent more time lying on the ground near the line of scrimmage than actually running, quarterbacks generally had a lot less trouble with picking apart the Orange secondary. The passing defense is an area that will need to improve if the Orange are going to consistently stop Big East offenses in 2010.

With the possible exception of Mike Holmes, nobody in the secondary has a firm hold on a starting job coming into the spring. Max Suter should be a safe bet to fill the other safety position, but then again Shamarko Thomas really came on strong in the second half of his freshman season, and could challenge him.

The cornerback positions are almost completely wide open. Shamarko Thomas could compete here as well and Phillip Thomas, Kevyn Scott and De’Mon Merkerson will all see the field this year, but there should be an open competition for the starting jobs. Also in the mix will be junior college transfer, Olando Fisher.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/347668-keeping-the-momentum-five-storylines-to-watch-for-in-syracuses-spring-practice#page/3

 

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While the majority of the 2010 recruiting class will have to wait until the fall to start practicing with the team, there will be seven new faces ready to take the field in the spring. Entering the fold are freshman Max Beaulieu, Brice Hawkes, and Marcus Spruill, JUCO transfers Olando Fisher and Michael Hay as well as two transfers from Hofstra, Aaron Weaver and Jose Cruz.

Marcus Spruill was the highest rated player in Syracuse’s 2010 recruiting class according to Rivals.com. He was the only player given four-stars by them. Listed at 6’1" and 220 lbs, he already has the size to compete for a spot at outside linebacker alongside Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue. Brice Hawkes is also a linebacker, but may need some time in the weight room before he’s a threat to win a starting job. The fact that he’s already enrolled and ready to participate in spring practice will help him mature quicker though.

Max Beaulieu, while not rated as high as Spruill in terms of stars, may actually be the gem of the 2010 class. I have no faith in the star rankings, and prefer to instead worry about what kind of offers the player gets out of high school, and Beaulieu had an impressive pile of them. Rivals lists Arkansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Purdue, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wake Forest and Wisconsin having all offered this Florida defensive lineman. He could definitely push for playing time at defensive end, and may at some point slide inside to defensive tackle.

The two JUCO transfers, Olando Fisher and Michael Hay could both contribute early. Fisher being a defensive back will bolster a secondary in serious need of talent and depth, and Hay could potentially win a starting job on the offensive line.

Aaron Weaver and Jose Cruz, who both transferred to Syracuse after Hofstra decided to axe their football program, also come in at positions of need. Weaver is wide receiver who lead Hofstra with 63 receptions for 797 yards and four touchdowns last season. Compare that to the 324 yards and three touchdowns that Syracuse’s top returning receiver, Marcus Sales had in 2009 and you have to think that Weaver will see the field early and often.

Jose Cruz will function primarily as a blocking tight end, and at the minimum will provide solid depth and experience to a group light on both.


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/347668-keeping-the-momentum-five-storylines-to-watch-for-in-syracuses-spring-practice#page/5

 

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However, the success or failure of this offense will depend largely on whoever steps up to replace Greg Paulus at quarterback. The incumbent would appear to be sophomore Ryan Nassib, who saw plenty of action as a backup last year, appearing in nine games and throwing for 422 yards and three touchdowns.

As would be expected from a freshman quarterback, he did struggle at times in his limited action, completing only 53 percent of his passes compared to Paulus’ 67.7 percent. He should be the favorite at this point, but the job is not going to be given to him. He’ll need to perform well to hold off the pack of young quarterbacks behind him, including redshirt freshman Charley Loeb who will be his main competition in the spring.

Nassib’s true test will come in the fall though, when two new freshman Jonny Miller and Jon Kinder arrive on the hill. Until then he’ll need to put together a strong spring to establish himself as the top dog and keep the three freshman from nipping at his heels.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/347668-keeping-the-momentum-five-storylines-to-watch-for-in-syracuses-spring-practice#page/6

 

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Not a ton of surprises, but there are some notable developments on the two-deep. Mike Jones, the former running back/special teams ace, is now listed as a starter at one of the receiver spots after doing good work there late in the year. Ryan Bartholomew takes over as the No. 1 center with the graduation of Jim McKenzie. And Ryan Gillum begins the spring atop the depth chart at weakside linebacker, alongside Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue.

I caught up with Doug Marrone yesterday for a pre-spring chat. Be sure to check out the blog on Friday for the first part of my conversation with the second-year head coach.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast

 

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Interview with Syracuse coach-BE Blog

Let's talk about the defense, starting up front. You lost a great player in the middle in Arthur Jones but you have both starting defensive ends back. How do you see that position this spring?

Doug Marrone: At the ends we have Mikhail Marinovich and Chandler Jones, and they have a lot of experience playing. Chandler Jones is a very talented player and Marinovich, he's a long kid with good speed, good leverage, a very quick kid. Torrey Ball came over from junior college last year and added some depth. Jarred Kimmel is not participating in the spring but he's played a lot and he'll come back in the fall. So those players have some experience.

On the inside, Andrew Lewis played a lot for us. Bud Tribbey stepped up and played well. It's hard to replace a player like Arthur Jones, though. Anthony Perkins played some and we have some junior college kids coming in and some freshmen who should add depth to the inside position. Ollie Haney played for us in short-yardage situations, and we'll see if he can play more in normal downs. So we have some players there and we have some coming in. But you don't want to be sitting here saying, we've got a kid coming in here, a kid coming in there and then you're banking on that. You go to that well too many times and it's hard to run a program that way.

At linebacker, you have two of your best playmakers back in Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue. You must feel pretty good about that spot.

DM: I do. Having Derrell Smith back in the middle and the year he had was very good for us. It's interesting because a year ago at this time when we started spring, he made the move from outside to inside and, really, he struggled early on in the spring. And really of all of sudden, for lack of a better term, the light goes off for him and he really excelled within the structure of the defense. He really had a solid year with some postseason honors, and we expect the same from him this year. Doug Hogue, he was the third or fourth team running back when we first got here. And he broke the tackles for loss in a game record held by Dwight Freeney, which is pretty darn good. And he's another big kid who can run.

So they've had a year in our system to develop, and that will help them. Ryan Gillum is at the other outside position, and we'll see what he can do. And we've got kids coming in and kids here now who'll come in and compete at those positions.

What about the secondary? You had a lot of young kids get experience there a year ago and now it seems like you have some pretty good depth there.

DM: Yeah, we do. Phillip Thomas as a freshman, he played quite a bit, and he can play safety or corner for us. Mike Holmes has been a solid player for us in the secondary along with Max Suter. Then, obviously, Shamarko Thomas had a great year for us back there. Da'Mon Merkerson played the other corner and Kevyn Scott is there at corner. So it's a good competition back there. I think the competition can really help them. We'll be able to have some versatility because there are about three or four players who can play the nickel position, too.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/tag/_/name/doug-marrone-qa

 

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The biggest name on the Syracuse University football team, with apologies to middle linebacker Derrell Smith, belongs to Delone Carter.

The fifth-year senior tailback, who rushed for 1,025 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, and also caught 11 passes for 117 yards and a score, started spring practice Monday with a lofty goal in mind.

“I’m hoping we can get to go to a bowl game, and start the ball rolling for Syracuse,” he said after he and five dozen teammates spent two hours working out in the rain.

SU, 4-8 in 2009, will aim for its first winning season since 2001, starting with the season opener Sept. 4 at Akron.

The start of practice provided a couple of surprises for second-year coach Doug Marrone. A few days ago he welcomed back linebacker E.J. Carter, who left the program in January, then was stunned by the unexpected departure of Mike Jones, who moved from running back and was listed as a starting wide receiver.

Carter and Smith, who led the team with 82 tackles last season, are among 10 starters back for the Orange, who will practice 14 times in the next month leading up to the annual spring game April 17 at the Carrier Dome.

With Paulus having used his one season of football eligibility, Williams having quit the team near the end of last season, and Jones graduating and heading to the NFL, Carter is the most recognizable Orange player.

And the team’s most obvious offensive threat.

“He looks great; he didn’t lose a step,” said Ryan Nassib, who backed up Paulus last season and will compete with sophomore Charlie Loeb during the spring. “He will make huge contributions to our offense this year.”

The 5-foot-10, 215-pound Carter, who missed his sophomore season in 2007 when he severely injured his hip, is a compact ball of muscle and speed. He’s hoping he’ll get the ball even more this season than he did last (236 carries) with Marrone now serving as offensive coordinator.

http://www.uticaod.com/football/x99762779/SU-football-kicks-off-spring-practice

 

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If you missed the above post, the big news out of Syracuse is that Mike Jones, the kick returner and expected starter at WR...left the team prior to start of spring practice.
That's good news for the rest of the BE.

 

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Is it possible Syracuse gets out of the cellar this year? It really would be good for the Big East for the Orange to find themselves again in football.

 

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Possibly, could be them or Louisville, who will only get better. Interested in seeing how good USF and Rutgers will be this year.

 

[psax889906]

Possibly, could be them or Louisville, who will only get better. Interested in seeing how good USF and Rutgers will be this year.

Charlie Strong has certainly pulled all the right strings in recruiting... lets see if he can do the same as a coach... if so, UofL could be back... would certainly make the keg of nails rivalry a lot more heated...

 

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Louisville suffered badly when Petrino left, it's going to take more than one year for them to right their ship. If he can do so within two years, he would actually deserve the money he's making.

 

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Louisville suffered badly when Petrino left, it's going to take more than one year for them to right their ship. If he can do so within two years, he would actually deserve the money he's making.

Oh I understand it's going to take time... but the recruiting class that he put together with the time he had... well, it suggests he'll be putting together recruiting classes consistently at the top of the Big East year in and year out...

 

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Yep, and I do think Louisville is going to be a monster sooner than later.

 

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Change is Constant for Cuse players

Marrone got more bad news Wednesday, when an MRI revealed fullback Carl Cutler, a junior-to-be who was a possible starter at fullback, on Monday tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will require surgery.

The news was the second blow to an already thin squad in its first week of spring drills. On Monday, potential starting wide receiver Mike Jones left the team just hours before the opening practice.

“It’s just unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do,” Marrone said following Wednesday’s workout. “We’re going on the field with 52 scholarship players. Three are specialists, so we really have only 49 scholarship players on the field.”

The scholarship limit in Division I-A is 85, so even with another 24 players headed to Syracuse in August, the Orange are well below the norm.

Marrone said Adam Harris, a 6-foot-2, 239-pound rising sophomore, will move from linebacker to fullback.

Harris, who was already working at his new position, will join another former linebacker, junior-to-be Shane Kimmel, and redshirt senior Robert Nieves, at a position the coach had hoped to emphasize more this season.

Still, Marrone found things other than the clear, sunny weather to like on Wednesday.

In a way, fewer players on the field means more repetitions in practice, especially when Marrone is putting in a new offense that he plans to run.

“Offensively, we probably have more in now than we had all of last year,” he said. “Not that we’re executing it to the level that we’d like it, but it’s in. And we’ll just get better and better as we go.”

One of those Marrone is counting on up front is another player who has changed jobs to fill a hole.

Ryan Bartholomew, a redshirt senior who played mostly guard last year, will take over at center.

Bartholomew said he learned about the position change in January, after Jim McKenzie, who could have returned for a fifth season, decided to graduate and move on to medical school.

The 6-3, 288-pound former guard began to study “a lot of film.”

“It’s different,” Bartholomew said. “I won’t say it’s harder. You have to know the offense. You have to know what everyone is doing.”

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangefootball/2010/03/post_32.html

 

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Day 2 of spring practice

The coach had praise for his top quarterbacks, junior-to-be Ryan Nassib and Charley Loeb, who will be a sophomore in the fall.

While Loeb ran several sets of plays with the first offensive unit, Marrone warned against reading anything into that.

“(There’s) nothing to read into it,” Marrone said. “We just want to make sure that we can make a decision, evaluate the players fairly. We’re just basically just moving some people around and trying to make sure that we as coaches get a true evaluation of players.”

The coach did compliment both in their throwing on Wednesday.

“Ryan had a nice day today, he got some deep balls down the field,” Marrone said. “Charley completed some balls early on, some intermediate routes. But Ryan really pushed the ball down the field and completed some deep passes.”

Several of Nassib’s bombs landed in the hands of junior receiver Van Chew, who also caught the coach’s eye.

Marrone said Van Chew was playing “much better than I thought he would be at this point.”

The speedy receiver has apparently bulked up some over the winter.

“He did a great job this off season,” Marrone said, guessing that Van Chew must have added 12-15 pounds and seems stronger.

“He wasn’t physical enough (last year) to really get off the line of scrimmage,” Marrone said. “Everybody knows he can run very well and catch the ball very well. Now, he’s becoming a physical player against press coverage. Now his speed is a legitimate threat because he can get off the ball. He’s really playing a lot stronger.”

The coach also mentioned the Hofstra receivers, wideout Aaron Weaver and tight end Jose Cruz, who came to the Orange after the Long Island university dismantled its football program. He praised all the tight ends, saying, “we’ve got some tight ends that can run some pretty good routes, one on one.”

He said the offensive line was trying to learn a lot of new things.

“Offensively, up front we’re still just evaluating,” he said. “A lot of terminology, a lot of different cadences. A lot of things are just different.”

For the defense

Marrone singled out Rishard Anderson, a 6-0, 180-pound sophomore defensive back, for the second time this week. “Really, Rishard Anderson had another good day."

He also mentioned the play Wednesday of Andrew Lewis (6-3, 273) who will be a redshirt senior at defensive tackle.

Marrone said the defensive ends and linebackers were looking solid. He added that deep backs Shamarko Thomas (5-10, 196 soph.) and Mike Holmes 5-11, 184 sr.) had been playing well all week. He said cornerback Phillip Thomas (6-0, 186 soph.) had a much better day on Wednesday.

Likes the energy level

Marrone gave everyone passing marks halfway through the first week.

“I look at the enthusiasm being there for us,” he said.

But he warned that superlatives for execution of plays would be hard earned.

“I’m the coach, so it’s going to be very difficult. I’m always looking for that perfect execution.”

Shopping for a fullback?

The loss of Carl Cutler to an ACL injury and surgery leaves the Orange, at least through spring, with a pair of converted linebackers and redshirt senior Robert Nieves at the fullback spot.

Linebacker Adam Harris (6-2, 239 jr.) was moved over Wednesday and joins junior Shane Kimmel (6-1, 229) another former linebacker.

Marrone said the Orange seems to be cursed at the position, as before Cutler went down SU lost Cody Catalina, who had been productive at the position, to injury. Catalina continues to sit out the spring and had been moved back to tight end on the depth chart.

Since SU still has one scholarship remaining to give out this year, Marrone said he might go looking for a fullback.

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangefootball/2010/03/syracuse_football_day_2_practi.html

 

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Practice day 6

“We keep putting the pressure on players,” head coach Doug Marrone said after the session. “We just had a level of intensity about ourselves that (said) today is an important day.”

Marrone, for one, was all over his offensive line at times. Once, during blocking drills, he stopped and made the group take a lap around the practice field after becoming frustrated with their struggles.

Improving last year’s third-down performance on both sides of the ball was the goal, Marrone said.
“We’re not where we want to be on third down,” he said.

Marrone said the offense is already ahead of where it was last year, in terms of “knowing the pressure, picking it up, and knowing who to block.”

The defense, he said, didn’t have as much improving to do on third down, but “we still have to work on coverages behind our pressure. Some guys were able to break open.”

The defense worked extensively with five, and sometimes six, defensive backs behind three down linemen and two or three linebackers. Using an extra defensive back is known as a nickel defense, and using two extra “nickel” backs is known as a dime defense.

“Today was really like the first day of an introduction to the nickel,” Marrone said. “You’re going to see good and bad on both sides of the ball.”

Several defensive gems

Two veteran defenders made a trio of interceptions during drills and in the late-practice scrimmage.

Redshirt senior Mike Holmes had the day’s gem when he backpedaled from his safety position; leaped high to tip a deep pass into the air, then made the interception as he fell on his back. The play drew oohs and aahs from his teammates.

Holmes came up with another nice pick when he stepped in front of a pass over the middle, juggled the ball, then secured it just as he was about to hit the turf.

Senior linebacker Doug Hogue also picked one off over the middle just before practice ended.

Strength at LB

Coach Marrone was asked to assess this year’s grop of starting linebackers.

“I like ‘em,” he said. “They’re all good players who have a chance for honors after the season.”

Right now, that group includes Hogue, Derrell Smith and Ryan Gillum on the first unit. But sophomore E.J. Carter has rotated in on the first unit

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangefootball/2010/04/syracuse_university_spring_foo.html

 

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Cuse LB Derrell Smith

This time a year ago, Derrell Smith was adjusting to life as a middle linebacker for the first time. And the transition wasn't easy at first.

Derrell Smith notched 81 tackles, 6.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in just 10 games last season."It was horrible," Smith says now with a chuckle.

Smith can laugh about those times last spring because of how much smoother everything seems these days. Once the Syracuse senior finally learned what he was supposed to be doing, he took off and became one of the top defensive players in the Big East.

Smith has played a little of everything during his college career -- starting at running back and moving to safety, outside linebacker and even defensive end -- but he's found a home now on the field. He remembers the day the proverbial light bulb went off for him last spring after some initial struggles.

"Coach [Doug] Marrone came up and jumped on me when I made the right read," Smith said. "Ever since then, I've been pretty comfortable."

He was one of the most productive players in the league last season, collecting 81 tackles, 6.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in the first 10 games. Smith said he saw his stats on a board in the Syracuse football complex and started thinking he might garner first team All-Big East or even All-America honors. But a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee ended his season with two games left. He wound up making the All-Big East second team.

Smith had surgery the day after Thanksgiving and went through rehab over the Christmas break. While he said his knee isn't 100 percent, it's getting better every day and he's able to do most things.

In Smith's absence, fellow linebacker Doug Hogue emerged as a force in the final two games, recording a school-record 6.5 tackles for loss in the Rutgers win. Smith is excited to play alongside a more experienced Hogue, who moved from running back to the defense last spring.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/8900/smith-is-oranges-man-in-the-middle

 

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Practice notes day 8

Dropped balls, fumbles and center snaps that sailed over quarterbacks’ upraised hands were common on the practice turf on Day 8 of the Syracuse University spring practice.

Several lost fumbles had the defense jumping during the day-ending scrimmage. One play that got everyone going was a drop by veteran Delone Carter that cornerback Phillip Thomas picked up and looked to be ready to take the distance. He was knocked out of bounds, however, by a hustling quarterback Ryan Nassib, who laid out to make sure Thomas didn’t score.

Head coach Doug Marrone wasn’t too concerned about the drops and other miscues.

“We had a good scrimmage on Friday, and then Monday, with the holiday weekend … offensively we have to do a better job. We put the ball on the ground a couple of times today in really what was our option stuff.”

The coach said the day was designed as a sort of review of a lot of the new offense he has installed, so the sloppiness was almost tolerable. Almost.

“We have to do a better job of catching the football, at all the positions, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends,” Marrone said later. He added that many of the drops could be attributed to good defensive coverage.

While the offense struggled a bit, the coach had lots of good things to say about his defensive backfield.

“Defensively, the backs are really playing well,” he said. “Da’Mon Merkerson really has had a nice spring.”

Others earning plaudits included cornerback Phillip Thomas and safety Mike Holmes, both of whom are capable of switching positions in certain coverages. Marrone also mentioned Shamarko Thomas, Dorian Graham, George Mayes and the injured Kevyn Scott, who is limited by a left wrist injury but well enough to participate in many of the drills.

“George Mayes might be the most improved player back there, from a technical standpoint,” he said.

Marrone said it’s important to have players who can move around in various coverage schemes.

“The goal is to put our four best players out there,” he said.

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangefootball/2010/04/syracuse_university_football_s.html