Syracuse football is finally back this Saturday for the annual, newly named, “Spring Showcase”. Here’s the top 5 things to look out for.
Syracuse football. For traditionalists, this is America’s Past Time truly. There’s nothing like the crunch of the grass under your cleats (or AstroTurf). The poetry in motion that is two behemoths weighing over 200 pounds colliding into each other.
The beautiful arc of a perfect crisp pass down the left hash right off of a quarterback’s precision pass. There’s so much to look forward to this season including, Dino Babers’ promise that the offense would be clicking on all cylinders by the halfway point of this upcoming season.
The Orange defense was awful last season, there’s no other way to articulate that. How will they respond this season? What will we see tomorrow? The quarterback play is another intriguing factor.
Here’s all the info you need:
- Saturday April 22
- 8:25 am, Alumni Youth Clinic (free event)
- 9:00 am, Select-A-Seat-Event (pick your seats for the upcoming season)
- 10:00 am, Football Showcase (autographs to follow)
- 2:00 pm, SU Lacrosse (Senior day vs Binghamton)
- All of this information was provided by the official SU Football Twitter account
5. A Void Left On Offense
It didn’t last long. It was a flash of lightning and as quick as thunder. Amba Etta-Tawo’s career with the Orange lasted all of 12 games. 720 minutes. But it was the most fantastic season in SU’s illustrious 128+ year history.
Lets hit the refresh button at the top of your memory browser in case you forgot. 94 receptions, nearly 1500 yards, and 14 touchdowns. Breaking numerous long-standing university records in the process.
Next: A Conversation With Amba Etta-Tawo Following #CuseProDay
Amba came in as an often forgotten about grad-transfer who was the face of the Dino Babers express. So with the loss of Etta-Tawo and Brisly Estime, that’s over 2000 yards of combined offense that SU will have to replace.
The most likely answer is Steve Ishmael. He was supposed to be the beneficiary of this high-octane Babers offense. Instead he was a cast-off who had marginal success. Now is his chance to reclaim the throne. I always thought he could be a NFL prospect, it’s time to prove his worth. Also side note, Moe Neal is transitioning to wide receiver, he’s a sleeper for someone who could make an impact.
4. Dino Babers Speech
The era of Dino Babers continues in year two. Finally this season he’s working with his own groceries. How will he do in his first showcase? You see what I did there?
Since Babers has arrived on the SU campus he’s been chock-full of one-liners, analogies, and
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stories. As a media member and a Syracuse fan, it’s been phenomenal. We got a glimpse “behind the scenes” last season after SU’s upset over Virginia Tech. In what was otherwise a horrendous 4-8 season, it was a nice highlight that’ll live in Syracuse lore forever.
While Babers disregarded sharing those kinds of moments in the future, at least publicly. He certainly appreciated the ESPN cameras there for what it did for recruiting. Babers is still profiting off of the ripple effects.
So did those thoughts at all inspire Babers during his latest speech? The media does only get a limited amount of time every day to cover the team so it’s certainly possible. Regardless of the motives this was another Babers classic. He won’t be satisfied with ordinary and I love that attitude, will we see another gem on Saturday morning? We can only hope so.
https://twitter.com/CuseFootball/status/855065405341274113
3. Weird Format
"“Kickoff is at 10 a.m. Team Orange and Team White will play four 12-minute quarters with a running clock and traditional football scoring. The winner will be crowned the 2017 Spring Showcase champion!” Per Cuse.com"But we’re also going to see first team offense vs second team defense and vice versa. So I along with other SU fans will be somewhat confused. When the offense is kicking the defenses butt that’s got to be a good thing.
But if the second teamers on either side are doing damage that may be a bad sign for the latter. So without getting into all the logistics, the format will be a bit odd. But just enjoy all the touchdowns and scream very loudly, the rest will take care of itself.
If you’re interested in seeing the depth chart for Saturday’s festivities they’ve been released on Cuse.com. Should be an entertaining contest nonetheless. It’s free parking and admission for the game and if you don’t want to leave your couch, no problem. It’ll be streamed on the WatchESPN app.
2. The Rebirth Of The Tight End Position
While offensive records are inevitably going to fall as long as Babers is at the helm, for some reason that offensive success didn’t transition to the tight end position. At least last season. That could all change with one of SU’s hottest new additions.
Ravian Pierce. A JUCO transfer from Southwest Mississippi. Depending on who you ask he’s a three or four star prospect. According to Syracuse.com, he caught 50 passes for 426 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Pierce has the potential to more than double some of those numbers next season in this offense. 6’4 215+ pound talent that can help contribute to Amba’s production void. But I want to clarify this before it gets lost in the shuffle. No one will be able to replace Amba, it’ll have to be a team effort to try and do their best to fill that void.
So how will he fit in this offense? How will he look out there in an Orange uniform. I’m excited about Pierce as I am any prospect I really think he can blossom as a seasoned talent on offense. Remember his name when watching tomorrow.
1. The Return Of Eric Dungey
Many thought (myself included), that Eric Dungey’s career was over as a football player. There was vagueness from the coaching staff about his future with the program. But eventually it was revealed that not only was Dungey coming back, but as the starter for the Orange.
The obvious elephant in the room is his concussion history and overall durability. Despite the middling success of Zack Mahoney, the offense just isn’t the same without their captain. You saw that during the 4-8 campaign last season.
Next: Syracuse Football: Eric Dungey has His Work Cut Out for Him
If the Orange are going to overcome one of the most difficult schedules, they’ll need Dungey. The rest of the depth chart includes: Rex Culpepper, Zack Mahoney, newly brought in Tommy DeVito. Who already announced on Twitter he’ll be attending Saturday’s festivites.
It’s been well over five months since Dungey has stepped on a football field for the Orange. Outside of practice and we’re not going to talk about practice. No we’re going to talk, Spring Showcase, whatever that means. Actually I know what that means, football is back. How does Dungey move around the pocket? Is there a ton of rust there? Who does he lean on in the passing game? Is early chemistry developed with anyone?