Syracuse Football: Top 5 Orange players due for a bounce back in 2020

If you just watched the 2019 Syracuse football season a question you may have been asking yourself is where’s Nykeim Johnson?

After an intriguing sophomore campaign where he hauled in 41 receptions for 565 yards and four touchdowns with a whopping 13.8 average per reception, expectations were through the roof heading into 2019.

Yet Johnson played in nine games and was a relative non-factor all year. What gives?

On social media, Nykeim shared after the season that he, “faced a lot of adversity from the end of 2018 into 2019 and he’s ready for a bounce back.”

After a disappointing 2019 season (19 receptions, 99 yards, and zero touchdowns) expect big things from Nykeim Johnson.

He isn’t your prototypical No. 1 wide receiver (5-foot-8, 172 pounds), but he brings a big-play threat to the Orange is the New Fast offense. Nykeim also seemingly had a very special connection with Tommy DeVito in 2018 which helped feed the narrative that he would be on pace for a special 2019 campaign with DeVito at the helm full-time.

In 2020 there will be a lot of mouths to feed in this offense, but if Johnson can get his life figured out on and off the field, there’s no reason he can’t be the beneficiary of this fast-paced high octane offensive attack.