Syracuse Football: Uncertainty at running back for the Orange?

It’s unclear what the status is of the Syracuse football No. 2 and No. 3 running backs from a season ago.

Coming into the 2020 campaign, which kicks off in fewer than two weeks on Saturday, Sept. 12, when Syracuse football travels to North Carolina, the thought is that Abdul Adams and Jarveon Howard would significantly contribute at the running-back spot.

Adams, a redshirt senior, and Howard, a junior, each accumulated more than 300 yards rushing in 2019, when the ‘Cuse went 5-7, and both could certainly amount to contenders for the starting job.

However, it appears that there is some ambiguity regarding the status of them on the 2020 roster. Stephen Bailey of Syracuse.com notes in a story that Adams and Howard “haven’t appeared in camp content or been mentioned directly during interviews.”

During a recent virtual call with members of the media, Orange head coach Dino Babers got asked if Adams and Howard are practicing with the squad, and what their status is for the 2020 stanza, according to Bailey.

“Babers said to contact them individually – a practice generally frowned upon within SU Athletics,” Bailey wrote.

Which Syracuse football players are the top possibilities for starting running back is murky.

Bios remain for Adams and Howard on cuse.com as it pertains to the Syracuse football 2020 roster, so what’s going on with them really is unknown at this juncture, and the situation seems a bit odd to me.

Speculation won’t get us that far on this topic, although it’s entirely possible that either or both of them are dealing with injuries, they have things that they are tending to away from the field, or perhaps they could have opted out of the 2020 term. One way or another, this isn’t a particularly good circumstance for the Orange.

Cuse.com says that Adams, the second-string running back, played in 11 games last year and came in third on the team with 336 rushing yards on 87 carries.

Howard, meanwhile, as a sophomore in 2019 also suited up in 11 encounters, ranking second on the crew with 337 rushing yards on 76 attempts, according to cuse.com.

If Adams and Howard aren’t options at running back this fall, Bailey says that redshirt freshman Jawhar Jordan and redshirt junior Markenzy Pierre “may be in line to carry the load for this unit.” Hopefully, some clarity will arrive soon on this issue.