Syracuse Football: Star LB Marlowe Wax Jr. is going to have a monster 2024 season

Syracuse football senior linebacker Marlowe Wax Jr., a star on and off the field, is poised to have a fabulous 2024 season, the first term under new head coach Fran Brown.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Wax, who hails from Baltimore (my hometown as well), was excellent in 2023, when the Orange went 6-7 overall and made its second straight bowl game, was a 'Cuse captain as a junior, and I assume he will be again this coming campaign.

In 2023, Wax was named to the All-ACC second team. As a junior, per SU Athletics, he tallied 110 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, four sacks, four forced fumbles, one interception and two passes defended.

Within the Atlantic Coast Conference, a season ago, Wax checked in at No. 5 in tackles per contest.

Big things are expected of Syracuse football linebacker Marlowe Wax Jr. in 2024.

A couple of days ago, per a press release, Wax was one of 42 college football players named to the preseason watch list of the 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy, which is awesome.

Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, this annual award is the only major college football honor that takes into account a player's character. Every year, the Lott IMPACT Trophy is doled out to the sport's defensive player of the year, someone who possesses a significant impact on his team on and off the field.

Preseason watch lists for other major college football awards are expected to be revealed later this summer, and Wax should hear his name called again. Last year, per cuse.com, he was on the watch lists for several big-time honors, including the Chuck Bednarik, the Butkus and the Lombardi awards.

As was noted in a recent X post by PFF College, Wax enters the 2024 campaign as one of the leaders around the country in most career tackles.

According to SU Athletics, in his tenure on the Hill, Wax has amassed a whopping 185 solo tackles, 294 total tackles, 36.5 tackles for a loss, 16.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, five passes defended, one interception and one blocked kick.

On the Syracuse football all-time lists, he is second in program history in forced fumbles, seventh in tackles for a loss and No. 19 in total career tackles.

One other interesting tidbit here. Wax has led the Orange in tackles in consecutive terms, and no Syracuse football player has achieved this on three straight occasions in 35 years. I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I think that Wax will lead the 'Cuse in tackles yet again in 2024.

In late December, word broke that a trio of Syracuse football veterans - Wax, defensive back Justin Barron and receiver Oronde Gadsden II - would run it back in Central New York for another season.

While Brown and his staff have done a remarkable job with their 2024 recruiting class of college transfers and high school seniors, having a talented and experienced player like Wax anchoring the team's defense in the upcoming campaign will prove a huge element of the Orange's success in the 2024 term.