Syracuse Football: Projected week-one starters at home versus Louisville

The Syracuse football 2022 season is about a week away, and I’m really excited for our beloved Orange to take the field.

There is excitement brewing for the ‘Cuse campaign this fall, despite a 5-7 record a stanza ago and a 2022 schedule that, at least on paper, looks pretty darn daunting.

Syracuse football will kick off its 2022 term with an Atlantic Coast Conference clash. On Saturday, Sept. 3, the Orange will host fellow league member Louisville.

The Cardinals have a stellar quarterback in redshirt senior Malik Cunningham, who will undeniably test the ‘Cuse defense.

In 2021, Louisville finished things up at 6-7, and that included a bowl-game appearance. Ahead of 2022, the ACC pre-season media poll forecasts the Cardinals to land in the Atlantic division’s No. 4 spot, while the Orange is projected to finish in the Atlantic basement.

Based on a variety of resources, including media reports and interviews given by Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers, I’ve looked into my (often wrong) crystal ball to take a stab at which ‘Cuse players I believe will start against Louisville.

Here are my projected Syracuse football starters for week one.

Offense

Quarterback
Garrett Shrader

Running Back
Sean Tucker (duh)

Wide Receivers
Courtney Jackson, Devaughn Cooper and Anthony Queeley (lots of depth at this position, so this is my best guess)

Tight End
Chris Elmore (the Rhino!)

Offensive Line
Tackles Matthew Bergeron and Dakota Davis, guards Kalan Ellis and Chris Bleich, and center Carlos Vettorello

Defense

Defensive Line
Caleb Okechukwu, Terry Lockett and Steve Linton (I could see Jatius Geer in the mix as well)

Linebackers
Mikel Jones, Marlowe Wax and Stefon Thompson (one of the best line-backing trios in the country)

Cornerbacks
Garrett Williams and Duce Chestnut

Safety/Rover Positions
Ja’Had Carter, Justin Barron and Alijah Clark

Special Teams

Kicker
Andre Szmyt

Punter
James Williams

Long-snapper
Aaron Bolinsky

Kick-off/Punt Returner
Trebor Pena

Holder
Mike Midkiff

Naturally, I’m sure that I’ve gotten a handful of these picks wrong. It happens. But I’d love to know how you think that I did with these predictions.

Please let me know who your projected week-one starters are for Syracuse football!