Syracuse football 2026 season preview: The Orange's safeties are looking rock solid

Ahead of the 2026 season, Syracuse football looks great at cornerback. But what about the rest of the secondary? At safety, the Orange lost Duce Chestnut, Devin Grant and Berry Buxton from last year’s team. Of course, with Grant and Buxton battling injuries throughout the season, other players were forced to step up and earn valuable playing time. However, Syracuse will still have a lot of new faces in new places at safety. Let’s look at how this position is shaping up for the Orange in 2026.

The starters

There is little debate that Cornell Perry and Braheem Long Jr. will be the starting safeties to open the 2026 campaign. Perry started seven games last season amidst the injuries to Grant and Buxton. He got better with more playing time and had a strong performance in the spring to further secure a starting job. With a strong senior season, Perry could potentially put himself on the NFL radar.

As for Long, he finished third on the team in tackles last season, behind only linebackers Gary Bryant III and Antoine Deslauriers. He also had two defended passes, an interception and two sacks. In other words, Long was making plays all over the field. His stat line is also impressive considering he only made four starts. Similar to Perry, Long is penciled in as a starter and will be expected to take another step forward and become a leader on the defense now that he’s an upperclassman.

The backups

The depth at safety could be a little tenuous, although the top two names to watch are Amare Snowden and Tedarius Hughes. Snowden is a transfer from Toledo, joining the Orange along with new defensive coordinator Vince Kehres. However, he didn’t appear in any games for the Rockets last season after playing just two games across two seasons at Wisconsin.

On the other hand, Snowden was a four-star prospect coming out of high school who also played baseball at Toledo, so he does come with some upside. As for Hughes, he’s a true freshman who was graded as a four-star recruit and flipped from Florida State. Hughes was among the top recruits in Syracuse’s 2026 class and is a good candidate to see the field early.

Further depth at safety could come from players who are natural cornerbacks. Specifically, Davien Kerr, Marcus Washington, Nazir Ward and Jai Eugene could all see action at safety. That group, specifically Kerr, will be responsible for backing up Demetres Samuel Jr. and Chris Peal at cornerback. But if those two stay healthy, they’ll take a majority of snaps at cornerback, creating opportunities for Kerr, Washington, Ward and Eugene to get snaps as backups to Perry and Long at safety.

The rest

In addition to Hughes, there is a trio of other freshmen who will be serving as additional depth at safety. Rayshon Andrews is a sophomore who played in four games last year. That should be enough to pencil him in for special teams duty this season. Meanwhile, Ibn-Wadu Muhammad and Terrance Johnson are true freshmen who were part of the 2026 class. They are a little less heralded than Hughes, facing an uphill climb to seeing significant action during their first season on campus.

The skinny

The situation at safety isn’t quite as good as the one at cornerback for the Syracuse secondary. Nevertheless, there is safety in numbers (pun intended). Perry and Long both bring experience to the starting spots, while Kerr is another experienced player who could see himself shuffled between cornerback and safety to help him get on the field. All three should be assets for the Syracuse defense in 2026.

Beyond that trio, there aren’t a lot of sure things for the Orange at safety. However, players like Washington, Ward and Eugene bring some experience to the table. Hughes also has tons of upside and is someone worth watching closely. If any of those players emerge as a viable part of the rotation, Syracuse should be rock solid at safety this year.

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