Syracuse Football: 2018 season report card, looking ahead to 2019
. . Syracuse Orange. OFFENSIVE LINE . B+
The straw that stirred the drink for the Orange was their offensive line. Without them they couldn’t have put up video game numbers rushing the ball, passing the ball, or quite frankly keeping Eric Dungey upright.
Syracuse got a gift from the gods that shouldn’t be taken for granted: Koda Martin. When does a starting SEC level tackle drop from the sky and gets plugged into your starting lineup? Apparently when said player marries the daughter of a highly successful college football coach in Dino Babers. Or when your father works for said father in law for Syracuse.
No matter what way you slice it, Koda brought a huge sense of stability to the Orange’s offensive line in 2018. The only bittersweet moment about this is Martin will be one-and-done at Syracuse. He was a grad-transfer and now will seek opportunities in the NFL or a different career venture.
A couple of lapses happened for the O-Line this season particularly in the Notre Dame game where Tommy DeVito and Eric Dungey were thrashed. In fairness, the Irish had one of the best defenses in college football and ended up in the College Football Playoff.