Syracuse football training camp opened Friday, Aug. 2. The Daily Orange beat writers, Eric Black, Andrew Graham and Josh Schafer, will keep a running tab of updates from each SU practice this summer before the Orange’s first game at Liberty on Aug. 31. Follow along here and on Twitter @DOsports.

Tuesday, Aug. 13

Syracuse head coach Dino Babers couldn’t stop praising his defense’s performance during the team’s first scrimmage of the season last Saturday. During his first media availability of the second full week of practice on Tuesday, Babers explained that the SU defense stifled the offense across the board, especially at the line of scrimmage.

He described the scrimmage as “shock treatment” for the new additions to the offensive line rotation, which include the likes of Carlos Vettorello, Anthony Red and Ryan Alexander.

“Our defense is really, really good right now,” Babers said. “So every time (the new offensive linemen) go in, they’re like running around with their head cut off.”

Babers continued, saying that the offense as a whole got frustrated on Saturday because it didn’t move the ball the way it wanted to. He attributed that to the mental aspect of the game as opposed to physically, such as players not knowing the correct package or going the wrong direction on certain plays.

The 90-minute scrimmage included 144 plays, of which just five resulted in a touchdown for the offense. In total, the defense recorded seven sacks, an interception and a safety, when Alton Robinson took down Tommy DeVito on the first play of the day, per SU Athletics’ press release.

“I saw a defense dominate the entire scrimmage,” Babers said. “If you’ve got a good defense, suppose you have a chance to win, right? So I’m excited about that, we need to do some more things on offense.”

Not only did the offense struggle in the scrimmage, they also didn’t emerge unscathed. Redshirt junior tight end Jesse Conners broke a bone and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks, Babers said. That timeline sets him up to return at some point during the beginning of September, when SU plays at Maryland on Sept. 7 or hosts Clemson the following week. Conners transferred to Syracuse from Holy Cross in 2017 and has yet to see the field.

Hackett will likely also see time lined up as a fullback. The tight end/fullback group (which includes Hackett, Jesse Conners, Luke Benson, Zack Lesko and Chris Elmore) split off for a few minutes to work on their own. That’s Elmore in the green non-contact jersey. pic.twitter.com/XnAz96LmiV

— Eric Black (@esblack34) August 7, 2019

Conners’ injury leaves just four healthy players in the group, which includes FB/TE Chris Elmore and tight ends Zack Lesko, Aaron Hackett and Luke Benson. Elmore, who donned a green non-contact jersey during practice last week, suited up in pads and a regular jersey like normal on Tuesday. Babers said he’s looking for Hackett to act as the leader for the group, especially with the absence of Conners.

“We’ve got some young guys in there playing,” Babers said. “We just had an injury there. So we expect a lot out of him and he’s gonna have to hold that group together.”

-Eric Black

Friday, Aug. 9

With a week of practices complete, Syracuse football is set to have its first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday.

Because it’s the first of the year, defensive lineman Josh Black said, the scrimmage will be simplified from a play-calling and scheme perspective. Coaches are more concerned with how unproven players look in a game-like setting than how the nuances of the playbook manifest on the field.

On the defensive line, there are currently three players out with illness or injury — redshirt freshman Caleb Okechukwu, senior McKinley Williams and freshman Joe Rondi — leaving ample opportunity for players further down the depth chart to make an impression.

“It’s kind of putting them out there, ‘OK, let’s see what you’ve got,” Black said of the first scrimmage.

 

Day 7 and nothing much new to report.

Andrejas Duerig returned as a full participant in practice.

Nykeim Johnson wore a green non-contact jersey for the first time.

Thread

— Andrew Graham (@A_E_Graham) August 9, 2019

For seasoned vets, the scrimmage is another step closer to game week. In a loaded secondary, for instance, the hope is just for a smooth, mistake-free run.

“Just being mentally sharp,” Evan Foster said of his hopes for the secondary’s performance. “Knowing that we know the defense.”

Earlier in the week, head coach Dino Babers talked about how he doesn’t judge a football player’s abilities until they’re in pads, playing a full-contact game. After Saturday, he should have a few more thoughts on his team.

— Andrew Graham

Thursday, Aug. 8

Syracuse redshirt junior offensive lineman Sam Heckel is out with an undisclosed injury, the school confirmed, following his second-straight absence from practice on Thursday.

Also injured is senior defensive lineman McKinley Williams, whose lower-left leg was heavily wrapped and resting on a small cart next to the practice field Thursday morning. SU said Williams has a lower-body injury and he will be out indefinitely. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ed Hendrix suffered another lower-body injury prior to the start of camp and will be out indefinitely.

Four more players — redshirt senior offensive lineman Andrejas Duerig, redshirt freshman defensive end Caleb Okechukwu, freshman defensive lineman Joe Rondi and redshirt-sophomore linebacker Kadeem Trotter — also missed practice with injury or, in Okechukwu’s case, illness.

Dino Babers was not scheduled to speak with the media Thursday and expectedly did not provide updates on any players. His next scheduled availability is Aug. 13.

Elsewhere, offseason work has paid dividends for presumed starting quarterback Tommy DeVito and a talented group of wide receivers. During the three open periods of practice available to the media, DeVito has looked in sync with his receivers, particularly Michigan State transfer Trishton Jackson, who has snagged multiple touchdowns in practice from DeVito.

“We were here all summer,” Jackson said. “We tried to limit our vacations because you know, receiver-quarterback, it’s a chemistry type of deal.”

Jackson noted that the wide receivers and quarterbacks bonded beyond workouts and football, including going out for meals, playing paintball, and watching “The Lion King” in theaters.

— Andrew Graham

Wednesday, Aug. 7

Already missing three starters on the offensive line from last season, Syracuse was without one of its replacements on Wednesday. Redshirt junior Sam Heckel, who’s been taking the majority of snaps at center with the starters thus far during the preseason, was a no-show at practice. Dino Babers declined to comment on Heckel’s absence.

Babers was a bit banged up himself, sporting a sling over his left arm during practice after he underwent shoulder surgery on Tuesday. Babers couldn’t sleep last night after surgery, so he instead used his free time to watch film.

“I’m not gonna tell you the game I was watching,” Babers said. “I was in the fourth quarter at 3:30 am, I just couldn’t go to sleep, so I just came to work.”

Positional work was stressed during the 10-minute session of open practice on Wednesday, the second practice of the summer open to media. While the five quarterbacks on the team threw to tight ends and receivers, the running backs all split off to the far corner of the two practice fields to practice their footwork.

With three-year starter Dontae Strickland and quarterback Eric Dungey — the team’s second leading rusher last season — graduated, Syracuse is missing 1,342 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns from last season. Senior Moe Neal now has the most career rushing yards on this team.

“The room is very talented this year,” Neal said Monday. “We lost Dontae, who was a great running back…but we’ve got a lot of guys that I think that’s gonna step up and be able to take the load on, and I’m very excited.”

Elsewhere on the field, the group of five tight ends and fullbacks huddled together before walking through a brief blocking drill. Of the group, juniors Chris Elmore and Aaron Hackett have the most experience with just five combined catches last season. 

Hackett figures to be more involved through the air this year, with tight end Ravian Pierce now gone and Gabe Horan medically disqualified. Elmore was wearing a non-contact jersey on Wednesday, but will likely be used often in goal line packages for the Orange come the start of the season.

Tyrell Richards, a 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore who’s listed as a defensive lineman, was highlighted by Babers. He’s flashed his versatility in camp so far, and Babers believes he can play multiple positions for the Orange this season.

“He’s gonna be a utility guy,” Babers said. “He’s got a lot of flexibility, he’s got a lot of athletic ability, we’re gonna line him up where we need him.”

Eric Black | Senior Staff Writer

Meanwhile, sophomore defensive back Andre Cisco led the country in interceptions last season en route to earning All-American honors, but it’s his maturity that’s stood out to Babers so far during camp. The head coach compared Cisco to Kendall Coleman, Syracuse’s leader on the defensive side of the ball. 

“I’ve never seen anything like Kendall Coleman,” Babers said. “As far as coming in, being mature at a young age, and acting that way and performing that way on the football field. Cisco is like that.”

The Orange have two more days of practice this week before an intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday, their first of the preseason.

— Eric Black

Monday, Aug. 5

After 220 days since the end of the Syracuse’s paradigm-shifting 2018 season, the Orange opened fall camp Friday, officially beginning the 2019 season.

“This is the best time of year,” head coach Dino Babers said Monday. “I really like to consider myself an unselfish guy, but I get really selfish about people trying to take my time away from baking the cake the right way.”

On Monday morning, during the 70-minute open portion of the first practice media were allowed to attend, Babers and co. worked their players through a litany of team and positional drills.

Practice began with the usual defensive stretching and offensive routes versus air (RVAs), where the quarterbacks warm up by throwing to receivers and running backs running undefended routes.

The offensive line then broke off with offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh. SU’s offensive line was a key component to the Orange’s 10-win season a year ago, but questions remain heading into 2019. Airon Servais, Evan Adams and rotational piece Sam Heckel return from 2018 and are listed as starters on SU’s most recent depth chart. Servais is listed as the starting center but played at tackle on Monday. Heckel and Adams are listed as the starting guards, but Heckel played center in SU’s first practice.

Ryan Alexander, a graduate-transfer tackle from Southern Alabama and Darius Tisdale, a redshirt-sophomore, also worked with the first-team offensive line, at tackle and guard, respectively. Redshirt freshman Carlos Vettorello, listed as the starting left tackle on the depth chart, played second-team center and struggled during goal line drills delivering multiple bad snaps in a row.

During the same goal line sets, SU’s defense swarmed through the fluid offensive line and repeatedly stuck the offensive with negative plays, chirping the whole time. Babers said Syracuse’s defense was its best unit during ACC media days, and that was on display during the goal line sets.

But when the offense backed up a bit into a red zone drill, redshirt-sophomore Tommy DeVito, the heir to Eric Dungey at quarterback, showed off the arm that earned him four-stars and 14 scholarship offers in high school.

On two back-corner fades, DeVito dropped in two perfect spirals — to Michigan State transfer wideout Trishton Jackson and freshman Courtney Jackson — for touchdowns over the defense. The second throw earned DeVito a “Hey Tommy, good throw!” from Babers on the field.

“We’re a lot farther than we have been in the past,” DeVito said, “as far as where we are in camp. And I give credit to that for the offseason. How much work we’ve put in throughout the summer day in, day out.”

— Andrew Graham

Published on August 13, 2019 at 1:18 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34