It’s finally time for the Syracuse Football Spring Preview. ITLH breaks down the top five things to watch out for tonight and provide other key information.
While the weather outside might not indicate it, it’s Spring! Actually it has been since March 20th, but now that it’s April 13th that can only mean one thing: the Syracuse Football Spring Preview! An annual event that is usually a Saturday afternoon affair has been shifted to prime time on Friday night!
The anticipation has been building with Dino Babers at the helm of the dome dudes. Many Orange fans are waiting for the moment where it seems like everything is coming together. The patience is wearing thin and understandably so. This is Babers’ third year at the helm and the past two seasons have been disappointing by the record (8-16).
Yikes…
This fan base is desperate for a bowl berth this season, that is college football relevancy in 2018. To do it this team is going to have to overcome a lot of adversity including but not limited too: the daunting ACC schedule (as they have to every year), a lot of key losses on offense and defense (Steve Ishmael and Zaire Franklin just to name a few), and of course the injury bug.
But we’ll get into all of that in our top five things to watch out for tonight in the Syracuse Football Spring Preview! Here are some key details if you’re heading out to the Carrier Dome tonight:
- Per usual, admission and parking is free for tonight’s festivities.
- “Fans should park in the surface lots across from the Dome (STADIUM, WEST) and enter the building through Gates A, B or C. Gates open at 5 p.m. Fans are encouraged to sit in Sections 105 to 126 along the home-team sideline, per Cuse.com.”
- The gates open at 5 p.m. but the actual scrimmage doesn’t start until 7 p.m. so plan accordingly.
- While finally there will in fact be an autograph session and photo opportunity with Otto the Orange after the game on the field.
- Seeing how he gets in and out of the huddle
- Command of the team
- Knowledge of the playbook (I’m sure much of this will be vanilla, but you get the point)
- Aaron Hackett, TE
- Former three star prospect at a clear position of need. Perhaps SU can utilize some two-tight end sets this season. Definitely an athletic freak who can add some juice to the roster.
- Ifeatu Melifonwu, DB
- Lanky freak of nature defensively. Has the Kam Chancellor body and the Orange hold a real diamond in the rough.
- Lakiem Williams, LB
- Lakiem Williams is tasked with the impossible job to replace Zaire Franklin. Realistically it’ll be more committee by approach at the linebacker position.
- Devin C. Butler, WR
- When I talk to insiders, they keep bringing up this name to me. It makes a ton of sense. He’s big 6-foot-3 and has some veteran savvy (Junior). Consistency is the thing he needs to work on, but if he does that, he should be the guy.
- Antwan Cordy, WR
- Are you used to this yet? You shouldn’t be. Cordy has played in the defensive secondary over the last few years but has battled injuries. Now it seems he’s been thrown over to the offensive side of the ball. He has that Brisly Estime/Erv Philips body type, we’ll see if he can put up that kind of production.
- Nykeim Johnson, WR
- This is my dark horse to be the next guy. He’s smallish but I see Desean Jackson when I look at the tale of the tape. We did an interview with him over the last offseason and he seems to have a really good head on his shoulders. Definitely a name to keep an eye on tonight.
2. Tommy DeVito’s development
For no other reason, you should go to the Syracuse Football Spring Preview because you’ll get your first ‘real’ look at Tommy DeVito. He’s the promised child and has already been labeled the savior of the franchise before he has even stepped foot on the field.
Big shoes to fill to say the least. But we can look at the first chapter of this new book. Depending on the result of our next slide (hint, hint), we could see this development more in action sooner rather than later.
I’ve talked to insiders who watched him play in high school and they say he’s ready for the division one spotlight. DeVito has been biding his time at Syracuse with Dungey at the helm. I’m glad that the Orange didn’t press the big red button last year (which would’ve jeopardized DeVito’s redshirt status) at the end of the year by playing him.
Now after redshirting last year, he’s got four years of possibilities under his belt. The SU quarterback room hasn’t been in this healthy of a position in a very long time. The present is here with Dungey and the future is secured with DeVito as the man of the future. You should get a good scope of both tonight in the Carrier Dome.
1. Eric Dungey’s health status
I feel like the past three years of me writing this Spring Preview top things to watch out for, Eric Dungey is No. 1 on the list every year. For better or for worse, he has been and it has been a similar message every year. How is Dungey recovering from offseason surgery or injury.
Sadly that is the case again. Dungey is rehabbing and recovering from offseason foot surgery. It’s still unclear if we’re going to see him in tonight’s game. I would expect we would.
Although either way it kind of works out. If he plays that’s great because we want to see how he looks and hope that maybe the fourth time is the charm in terms of his health. If he can’t go, that means more DeVito time which I don’t think any SU fan will complain about.
Next: Syracuse Football: NFL Draft stock update on top Orange prospects
But here’s the thing, Dungey can’t be blamed for his durability issues. I’ve seen this kid develop over the last several years and he’s done everything right in the workout room. He’s got a chiseled frame, his mind is right, but you can’t protect yourself from concussions. If he’s healthy, Dungey should be one of the top quarterbacks in the entire ACC.
3. Who is the next great wide receiver to take over?
That’s the big question on everyone’s minds heading into this third campaign under Dino Babers. But the good news is Syracuse has had a guy every year so far under the Orange is the New Fast regime with Etta-Tawo and Ishmael, so who’s next?
The real question is, will somebody be next? This season is going to prove one thing or another. Has SU been incredibly lucky with Ishmael and Etta-Tawo or can anyone produce the video game numbers in Babers’ offense?
I’m going to safely assume the latter that someone else is going to inevitably step up to the plate. So with that being said who are the likeliest candidates? Here are a few that jump to mind:
5. Situational football
This is going to be a scrimmage not an actual game. We’ll get situational football: offense vs defense, two minute drill, red zone, etc. I think it’s almost better to put the team into specific situations and see how they react. Especially with a lot of new pieces in the fold.
There won’t be any scoring kept, but that’s not what is important anyway. For example, how Eric Dungey takes the team down the field in the two minute drill is important for a variety of reasons:
Also on the other end Tommy DeVito how does he look in those situations and how that compares to what Eric Dungey does. Also a lot of this is a social experiment. Players are being put in different positional groups that they aren’t normally in, how does that look.
I’m so excited for tonight because it’ll be our first look at Dino Babers’ recruits. The first year was someone else’s groceries, the second year is almost like a first year, and then the third and fourth year is where we should start seeing some changes.
4. New names to watch out for
It’s the cycle of life when one thing dies another thing is born. That same message is reiterated every year for the Syracuse football team. Players graduate and move on and others players step up to the plate.
That is again the case this season, although it feels even heavier with so many losses on both sides of the football. For example, in back-to-back seasons offensively the Orange have lost Amba Etta-Tawo and Steve Ishmael.
While on defense the team lost a dynamic duo at the linebacker position in Zaire Franklin and Parris Bennett. A ton of production is lost and of course has to be replaced. But the other nugget is the Orange haven’t been to a bowl game since 2013, so they have even more to replace.
But fortunately here are several names to keep an eye on: