Syracuse Football: Positional grades heading into 2017 season

A lot of interesting pieces in the backfield for the Orange in 2017. The main bell cow will be Dontae Strickland. He made plays with his legs and his arm (evidenced above) last season. He only had 162 carries last year, I expect that to surge over 200 in this offense.

A do it all kind of home run threat is Moe Neal. He’s smaller (5’11, 182 pounds), but he’s shifty and can catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s been utilized in the slot on offense as well. A versatile guy that I expect Dino Babers and company to do everything they can to get him the ball in open space.

Although there will be some new meat thrown into the blender this year and their names may sound familiar. That’s Markenzy Pierre and Allen Stritzinger. We spoke to Pierre during the offseason and he was one of the more impressive recruits not only on the field, but off of it as well.

With eight backs listed on the roster, some will be reserved to backup and special teams duty. While there will be some running back by committee this year, I expect the main cogs of the offense to realize their role early on in the season. Strickland certainly from how he’s looked in camp, Neal as we mentioned, and there’s probably room for one more back to make his case to be involved this season.