Syracuse Football: Phil Steele predicts breakout players for Orange

College football guru Phil Steele predicted who the breakout players would be for the Syracuse football squad in 2019. Here are the full results.

If the Syracuse football squad is going to continue their 2018 success, they’re going to need some new players to step up to the plate.

The Orange lost a lot of production both offensively (Eric Dungey, Jamal Custis) and defensively (Chris Slayton, Ryan Guthrie) to graduation and the NFL Draft.

College football guru Phil Steele joined Boy Green on ‘Drive Time Sports’ and revealed some breakout candidates on offense and defense who can jump to the forefront in 2019:

"On offense:“I think someone you have to look at is wide receiver Trishton Jackson who didn’t get much action last year due to the transfer restrictions. I think he’s a really nice addition to the receiving core for Syracuse.Also how about Abdul Adams? I know Moe Neal is back and he’s very solid, but Abdul was one of my top-rated running backs coming out of high school. He’s another guy who got to play in the bowl game for Syracuse and looked good. I think both of these guys will be your breakout players on offense.”On defense:“Alton Robinson won’t be breaking out in 2019, we all know how good he is but he can really be on the national radar this season. His bookend teammate Kendall Coleman also posted great numbers last year. I love how Syracuse really upped their sack total last year from 16 to 43.Also, keep your eyes on Lakiem Williams at linebacker. A lot of the time when a JUCO comes in it’s a little bit of a learning curve that first year when they come in. He’s going to make a much bigger impact at the linebacker position next season.”"

Couldn’t agree more with the Lakiem Williams selection on defense. There are several factors that will help him next season for the Orange.

First off Dino Babers historically has preferred to play linebackers with veteran standing as his starters. So Lakiem as a senior will have opportunities based on that factoid.

But beyond that, the JUCO thing is super underrated. You don’t have to look much farther than Ryan Guthrie who transferred over from Ellsworth Community College.

He really struggled to make an impact as a junior in his first year for the Orange. While he played in all 12 games, he only tallied 11 total tackles.

Fast forward to his senior season and he exploded on the scene and surpassed the modest expectations thrown on him and finished second-team All-ACC.

That same path is possible for Lakiem Williams. He’s got all the tools to make that next step and continue the rich recent tradition at linebacker for the Syracuse football squad.

The other breakout candidates that Steele mentioned on offense and defense are sexy choices right now in Jackson and Adams. Both should see significant time at running back and wide receiver.

While defensively Coleman and Robinson have the chance to be one of the most feared pass-rushing duos in the country.