Syracuse Football 2025 Preview: Safety will be a strength for the Orange this season

There are plenty of uncertainties facing the Syracuse football team ahead of the 2025 season, but the safety position shouldn’t be one of them. This is one of the deepest and most experienced groups the Orange will have this season, even with the loss of Alijah Clark from last year’s squad.

The team’s safeties figure to be the heart of the defense, meaning the back end of the defense should be a strength that helps Syracuse win games in 2025. Let’s look at why this figures to be a position of strength for the Orange.

The starters

Syracuse has three starting-quality safeties who should all log heavy snaps this season. Duce Chestnut is the most familiar name for Orange fans. After a forgettable season at LSU, Chestnut came back to Syracuse after Fran Brown was hired and finished second on the team in tackles last season. Chestnut was also third on the team in defended passes and figures to be on the NFL’s radar if he can have a standout season.

Devin Grant is also likely to play a big role for the Syracuse defense this year. His strip and score against Miami was perhaps the most important play in the Orange’s upset of the Hurricanes. Aside from that one play, the Buffalo transfer tied Derek McDonald for the fourth-most tackles on the team, with two sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception, in 2024. He could also position himself to be drafted by an NFL team with a big year.

Last but not least, Berry Buxton figures to be a key part of the secondary after starting five games last year. Depending on the situation and formation, he’ll likely be on the field at the same time as Chestnut and Grant frequently, helping to fill the void left by Clark. While his stats don’t jump off the page, the fifth-year senior should be ready to play a key role in the Syracuse secondary.

The backups

If they stay healthy, Chestnut, Grant and Buxton should take a majority of the meaningful snaps for Syracuse this season. But there could be room for a few more players to join the rotation at safety. Former Georgia and Louisville defensive back Marcus Washington missed all of last season with an injury after transferring to Syracuse. He could provide depth at both cornerback and safety.

Next on the depth chart figures to be Jalil Martin and Cornell Perry, who are both redshirt juniors. Martin had some impressive offers coming out of high school and redshirted at Nebraska for a season before transferring to Syracuse. He’s played sparingly the past two seasons but finished 2024 with an interception in the Holiday Bowl, which could be a springboard to a bigger role in 2025. Perry, meanwhile, has featured mostly on special teams the last two seasons. He can be a key figure on that unit again in 2025, but will also provide additional depth at safety if there are injuries at that position.

The rest

There is a slew of true freshmen defensive backs who could provide additional depth at either cornerback or safety for the Orange this season. That group includes Kaylib Singleton, Javon Lawrence, Rayshon Andrews, Ziyyon Bredell and Davion Kerr (the twin brother of sophomore Davien Kerr). Meanwhile, wide receiver Ta’Ron Haile was moved to defensive back early in training camp. However, it’s doubtful any of those players will receive significant snaps at safety, given the depth and experience Syracuse has at that position.

The skinny

If all goes according to plan, safety will be a strength for the Syracuse defense in 2025. The trio of Chestnut, Grant and Buxton should cover a lot of ground and wreak a lot of havoc for opposing quarterbacks. Given the youth and inexperience at other position groups, it could be up to the safeties to create turnovers and make plays on third down that get the defense off the field. In other words, the pressure is on the Syracuse safeties to deliver this season and become the biggest difference-makers on defense.