Things weren’t as complicated for Mike Holmes last year.

Sure, Holmes was thrown into the fire last season – a former high school running back who ended up starting eight games at safety for Syracuse as a true freshman.

But at least at safety Holmes had some margin for error. At safety, he could get away with sloppy technique or mixing up the occasional assignment.

‘Last year I was just able to use my talent and skills to make up for what I didn’t know,’ Holmes said.

That’s not the case this year. In the spring, Holmes was moved to cornerback – a position at which slip-ups are magnified. The transition has been a difficult one, made harder by the fact Holmes never even played cornerback until he got Syracuse last year.

Regardless, Holmes is Syracuse’s No. 1 corner. He is a mainstay in a secondary beset by injuries and still grasping for some semblance of chemistry as SU (1-3) prepares to open Big East play when it hosts Pittsburgh (2-1) Saturday at noon.

‘It’s a big transition. This year I’m really trying to hone in on techniques,’ Holmes said of the move to cornerback. ‘A bad game for a cornerback could be determined from one or two plays.’

Holmes has learned that cold lesson more than once this year. The Jacksonville, Fla., native has been targeted by opposing passing games so far. He was burned twice for long touchdowns against Akron and Penn State and has struggled in general at defending deep passes this season.

Not that Holmes has been the only player in the secondary prone to gaffes. The Orange struggled to defend the deep pass against Northeastern, which racked up 297 passing yards. A week earlier, No. 12 Penn State tallied five touchdown passes, all of them longer than 15 yards.

Holmes was responsible for two of those scores, both of which went to Nittany Lions wideout Deon Butler. In the first quarter against Penn State, Holmes overplayed inside coverage, only to have Butler run a fade route to the outside and snag a 17-yard touchdown.

Holmes said minute errors like that are ones he can correct. Blunders that will clear up as the sophomore logs more minutes at corner.

Holmes was better against Northeastern, save for a mix-up in Syracuse’s zone coverage that led to a 27-yard Huskies touchdown pass in the second quarter.

‘I thought Mike looked good for a number of plays in the game,’ said SU head coach Greg Robinson. ‘I thought his technique was cleaner … If opponents are going to work on Mike Holmes, I think when it’s all said and done, we’ll be doing just fine.’

Especially now that the Orange might finally be able to form some chemistry in its secondary, with cornerback Nico Scott and safety Randy McKinnon healthy after missing time against Akron and Penn State.

Syracuse will be relying on a unified secondary against a Panthers passing game that boosts playmaking senior wideout Derek Kinder. It will also be banking on Holmes having learned from some of his early season lapses.

‘For me personally, usually it takes for me to make a mistake, and then I won’t make that mistake again,’ Holmes said. ‘It’s the experience thing for me.’

Robinson reacts to Gross’ criticism

Robinson was asked during his Tuesday press conference to respond to critical statements by Director of Athletics Daryl Gross in an ESPN.com article posted earlier in the day.

According to the story, Gross made an unsolicited call to ESPN to voice his displeasure with the performance of the football team and defend his own job performance as athletic director. ESPN College Gameday analyst Lee Corso criticized Gross for firing former head coach Paul Pasqualoni.

‘It isn’t working out,’ Gross told ESPN.com with regards to Robinson. ‘It’s very disappointing … He has some work to do out in front of him.’

Robinson shrugged off any suggestion the article might serve as a distraction.

‘That’s Daryl’s business,’ Robinson said. ‘I’m not an athletic director. I don’t think it’s my place to comment at all. Anything that he thinks is necessary for our program, that’s his choice.

‘He’s the athletic director. He’s my boss, he can say whatever he wants. And quite frankly, there hasn’t been the progress yet that there needs to be. I’m the first to say it. I’ve said it since day one.’

Delone day-to-day

Sophomore tailback Delone Carter said he was ‘not sure’ whether he will be able to play against Pittsburgh this Saturday as he continues to rehab a pulled hamstring.

Carter suffered the injury in the first quarter of SU’s loss to Penn State. An MRI last week revealed Carter did not suffer a tear. He did not play against Northeasten.

‘I won’t know until Wednesday. I’m getting eased into practice this week,’ Carter said. ‘I’m not willing to risk going out there and tearing it and being out for the season.’

jsclayto@syr.edu

Published on September 23, 2008 at 12:00 pm