Syracuse Football: 5 Freshmen that will make an impact in 2019

Heading into 2019 here are the five names to keep an eye out for that will make the biggest impact next season for the Syracuse football squad.

Syracuse football had their best season in 17 years under Dino Babers in 2018. Led by seniors Eric Dungey, Jamal Custis, Koda Martin, Cody Conway, Dontae Strickland, Ravian Pierce, and Chris Slayton; Syracuse went on to beat West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl. All seven of those former Orange are now on active NFL rosters.

Although Syracuse still returns 15 of their starters from last season, so there is still the opportunity for promising young guns to earn playing time.

Dino Babers and staff put together another solid recruiting class in 2019, with 20 commits.

Syracuse hit a recruiting lull during the Doug Marrone and Scott Shafer era’s but Babers and his staff have proven that with some success on the field, they can put together a middle of the pack ACC recruiting class. As fans, that’s all we can ask for. You’ll never see Syracuse recruiting compete with Clemson, Ohio State, or Alabama in the top 10 nationally, but if they bring in solid classes, and develop the players to fit the coach’s schemes they will find success.

In the 2019 class, Syracuse pulled in five commits from the football hotbed of Florida, including two blue-chip targets in Mikel Jones and Cornelius Nunn. Syracuse also hit the state of North Carolina hard. Steve Stanard, defensive ends coach is responsible for recruiting the Carolina’s and his connections paid off in 2019. Cuse brought in another highly touted linebacker, Lee Kpogba and a highly skilled prep player, Drew Tuazma.

Those are just some of the areas that Syracuse targeted and tried to find their next batch of players to elevate the program.

It will be fun to see how the Syracuse staff is able to mold these players to fit their style and system on offense and defense. Some of the recruits look like they might be long-term projects and candidates to redshirt, while others look like they could come in and compete right away for playing time. Let’s take a look at who Syracuse fans can expect to see on the field this upcoming season.

Syracuse fans better get to learn this name. Jordan is the next speedster to come through the Syracuse program, in the long line of burners under Dino Babers. The 5-foot-11 running back is originally from Long Island but moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he played his high school football.

Jordan actually was a commit in the 2018 class, but unfortunately wasn’t eligible to make it to campus to enroll in the fall of 2018. Credit him though, he worked hard, got his grades up and is already on campus practicing with the team. Not only is he practicing, but he is receiving rave reviews.

Syracuse is expected to have a crowded backfield this season with Moe Neal and Jarveon Howard returning. Between those two the Orange bring back 1,184 rushing yards and 12 TDs. In addition to that, Oklahoma transfer, Abdul Adams is now eligible and flashed some promise in the Camping World Bowl with two TDs.

However, there might still be some room at the inn for Jordan. He possesses game-breaking speed and showed that in the Spring Game. Jordan ran for a TD from around midfield.

He also ripped off a longer touchdown from inside his own territory that was called back due to holding. Jordan has a great chance to see some carries at running back. There are a lot of horses in that backfield, but a guy with that kind of speed has to see the field at points.

That’s why I think there is no question Jordan will be Syracuse’s primary kick returner this season. Sean Riley, who has been doing the kick returns for most of his career, returns this season and is poised to have a big year at slot receiver. Let him focus on receiver, and let Jordan and his 4.3 40-yard dash handle kick returns.

Check out his film here:

Jackson is another speedy player that will fit right in at Syracuse with their style of play. Jackson hails from Western Pennsylvania where he put up gaudy numbers as a wide receiver. The Monroeville, Pennsylvania native played at Gateway High School. During his career, he caught 153 passes for 3,015 yards and 47 TDs.

The Orange also return a ton of talent at that position in Nykeim Johnson and Sean Riley. Between the two starters last season, they put up 1,321 yards receiving and 7 TDs.

However, there was some talk that Nykeim Johnson could see some time at outside receiver with the departure of Jamal Custis. Given Johnson’s tremendous deep ball skills and speed, he could make for a good candidate. That would vacate a spot at slot receiver which Jackson would certainly compete for.

Jackson reportedly started at slot receiver in the spring game and he too flashed signs of being a contributor early. According to Syracuse.com, Jackson beat corner Trill Williams on a slant route and took it to the house for a touchdown.

At 5-foot 10 170-pounds Jackson will need to add some weight to his frame, but he certainly has the athleticism to contribute right away. He’s another kid that can throw on the burners. He possesses similar 4.4, 4.3 40-yard speed in the open field.

The Steel City native was not all that highly rated by recruiting services coming out of high school, but he did receive some big-time offers. Kentucky, Baylor, and West Virginia were all after Jackson, but he elected to become the first commit for the Orange in the class of 2019.

Expect Jackson to see the field this season. His athleticism and run after the catch ability is something that is sought after in the Dino Babers offense. Slot receiver might be a tough position to crack into the rotation this season, but I think Jackson is primed to do so given his starting role during the spring game.

Check out my analysis of his film here.

Let me start off this preview by saying that it is extremely difficult to crack into the starting rotation as a freshman offensive lineman. Typically young lineman do not have the technique needed to play offensive line in the ACC in their first season of college football. Lineman that go on to play at Power Five schools has always had the benefit of being much bigger and stronger than their opponent in high school.

Red comes to Syracuse at 6-foot-4 and 275-pounds. That is good size for a freshman lineman, but what is good to see is that he didn’t come in with too much weight on his frame. Often times linemen come in overweight and need to lose fat, then add muscle. In Red’s case, he enrolled early and has been able to just focus on adding strictly muscle to that 6-foot-4 frame.

Red was not highly recruited at all, but this coaching staff certainly has a track record of identifying “hidden gems” that they feel will turn into contributors. It sounds like Red has a chance to be one of those contributors early on in his career.

If there is one serious question mark heading into the season for Syracuse, it’s their offensive line. Mike Cavanaugh is in his second year at Syracuse as the offensive line coach. Last season, there were good improvements made, as Syracuse’s run game was the best its been under Dino Babers. They also did a decent job of keeping Eric Dungey and Tommy DeVito on their feet.

However, both starting offensive tackles have departed and signed contracts with NFL teams. Koda Martin has moved on to the Los Angeles Chargers and Cody Conway is with the Tennessee Titans. Both players will look to earn roster spots for this upcoming NFL season.

The Orange also graduated starting guard Aaron Roberts, leaving three vacated spots on the Syracuse offensive line. An injury to Sam Heckel and other linemen have left Syracuse thin at the position during the spring. Red has a great chance to compete and show the coaching staff what he can do.

As a result, Red earned a starting role for the spring game at one of the tackle positions. I’m sure Red has a lot to do before he sees the field as a starter this season, but he is earning valuable experience.

More reinforcements are on the way for the Orange in grad-transfer Ryan Alexander and JUCO product Darius Tisdale. But Red was the man on campus early and has the advantage of learning the playbook before those two.

Check out an analysis on his film here.

Let’s move over to the defensive side of the ball. We’ve already touched on three offensive guys that could make an impact. Syracuse returns 8 of their 11 starters on defense from last season. They are incredibly deep and talented in the secondary and defensive line.

With that being said, if there’s one weakness among those position groups, its interior defensive line. Syracuse graduated Chris Slayton, who went on to get drafted by the New York Giants in the 7th round of the 2019 NFL Draft. During his career at Syracuse, Slayton was a productive player, but more than anything, he ate up double teams in the middle. He was the guy that allowed edge rushers, Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson to get to the quarterback if they won their one-on-one matchup.

Syracuse is returning defensive tackle, McKinley Williams who started in 13 games a season ago. They also return Josh Black, who started his career at defensive end, but last season switched to more of an inside player.

Tuazama comes to Syracuse as a guy that can play either inside or outside on the defensive line. He’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 220-pounds. That is pretty light for an interior lineman, but Tuazama enrolled early in January. He has a chance to add some serious weight over the eight months before the season starts.

If he does add the weight, he can be a backup contributor at interior DL. Kenneth Ruff is another defensive tackle that showed signs of promise last season, but beyond Williams, Ruff, and Black, there isn’t much depth at the position.

Tuazama is reportedly a freak athlete. He graduated from high school in 2018 and looked like a promising tight end prospect. He had offers from the likes of Miami, Florida State, and Ole Miss. Ultimately, Tuazama ended up attending Jireh Prep in North Carolina, where he started dominating on the defensive line. That’s where Syracuse scooped him up as a defensive lineman, where he looks to contribute this season.

Tuazama also had a strong spring and has seen some significant playing time in scrimmages.

Check out analysis on his film here.

This last one was tough for me to choose. Defensive back is a loaded position group for Syracuse. The DBs are led by Nick Monroe and return all five starters in the Orange’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme. Chris Fredrick, Trill Williams, Evan Foster, and ACC defensive rookie of the year, Andre Cisco combined for 13 interceptions last season. While rising senior Scoop Bradshaw played solid coverage.

In addition, the Orange return two other players that saw significant action; Allen Stritzinger and Ifeatu Melifonwu. Allen Stritzinger, a nickel back saw significant playing time in the Camping World Bowl with Trill Williams’ injury. He had a key interception late in the game. Melifonwu had a great game against North Carolina, relieving an injured Chris Fredrick.

There is a ton of talent and depth in the Orange secondary. So much so that it is considered a top two defensive backfield in the ACC.

With that being said, Cornelius “Neil” Nunn is the next great DB to come through Syracuse. He committed to the Orange early in the 2019 cycle but later backed out after receiving an offer from his hometown Miami Hurricanes.

Ultimately, the Orange were able to get Nunn back on campus. After the firing of Mark Richt, Nunn pledged to Syracuse once again.

The sunshine state DB is simply going to be too talented to keep off the field. He had offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Miami, and Georgia.

He earned a four-star ranking from 247sports and is considered one of the best recruits of the Babers era.

If there is one question mark, Nunn is slightly undersized at 6-foot and 170-pounds. He is the only guy that I mentioned that did not enroll early at Syracuse and isn’t on campus yet. But that doesn’t mean he won’t fit in right away and see time.

I think you can see him play safety, corner, or nickel back. He is talented enough to do any of those. If there are injuries he will see the field, but there is no question he will be a special teams contributor.

A guy with that much talent and accolades will need playing time in some capacity. Check out my analysis of his film here.