Syracuse Football: Fran Brown announces key players are likely out against Colgate

Neil Adler

Key players for Syracuse football aren't expected to be available on Friday night at home versus Colgate, Fran Brown says. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Two extremely important Syracuse football players are likely out against Colgate on Friday night in Central New York, head coach Fran Brown has announced.

Those players are starting running back Yasin Willis, a sophomore, and starting safety Devin Grant, a senior. Brown says he hopes to have them both back and available when the 'Cuse travels to No. 12 Clemson on September 20.

Syracuse Football Head Coach Fran Brown announces that starting running back Yasin Willis and starting safety Devin Grant will both be OUT for tomorrow night's game against Colgate.

He said he hopes they both return in time for Clemson next week.

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Brown has also said that redshirt freshman wide receiver Emanuel Ross "probably" won't play when the Raiders come to the JMA Wireless Dome on Friday evening.

Syracuse HC Fran Brown says Devin Grant and Emanuel Ross "probably won't play again this weekend."

Coach gives an update on the health of the team on his weekly visit on #OrangeNation. pic.twitter.com/dWrJ6DM8Vs
— Cuse Sports Talk (@CuseSportsTalk_) September 10, 2025

While Orange Nation certainly wants to see these guys on the field as soon as possible, their absences shouldn't prevent Syracuse football from taking care of business versus Patriot League member Colgate. The 'Cuse (1-1) is a huge betting favorite, unsurprisingly, versus the Raiders (0-2).

Syracuse football is minus key players on Friday at home.

The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Willis, from Newark, N.J., is arguably the Orange's most important player on offense, save for starting quarterback Steve Angeli, a redshirt junior. Through two games, Willis has a combined 34 carries for 139 yards and four scores on the ground, per SU Athletics. With him out, look for redshirt senior Will Nixon to start at running back against Colgate.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Grant, a senior from Elmont, N.Y., who transferred to the Orange from Buffalo before the 2024 season, didn't play last Saturday when Syracuse football beat UConn in overtime. Against Tennessee in the 2025 campaign opener, he tallied three solo tackles and four total tackles.

Listed behind Grant on the Orange's two-deep depth chart versus the Raiders is redshirt junior Cornell Perry. The other two starting safeties for the 'Cuse on Friday night are expected to be redshirt seniors Duce Chestnut and Berry Buxton III.

The 6-foot-2, 202-pound Ross, a redshirt freshman from Jackson, N.J., has yet to see the field for Syracuse football in the early part of the 2025 term. The Orange's starting wide receivers listed on the depth chart for the Colgate game are senior Justus Ross-Simmons, junior Darrell Gill Jr. and junior Johntay Cook II.

Neil Adler

Since 2016, Neil has served as a writer with Inside The Loud House, while also taking on the role of editor in 2020. Neil, a graduate of Syracuse University in 2000, primarily covers 'Cuse basketball, football, recruiting, NIL and conference realignment issues. Neil has been an avid Syracuse sports enthusiast dating back to the 1980s. While with Loud House, Neil is regularly heard on the radio in Central New York, while also participating in numerous podcasts related to the 'Cuse. His exclusive reports are often picked up by other media outlets, too. When not writing about Syracuse sports, Neil also co-owns a marketing agency in the Washington, D.C., market. He loves playing hoops and buying basketball cards with his son, spending time with his parents, brother and nephews, and listening to Duran Duran.