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

Aug. 22

Asked about his final season starting in eight days, assuming a nearly coach-like role and how he’s changed over the past three years, Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey mainly expressed the bittersweet nature of his senior season starting.

“People probably think I’ve been here for about 20 years,” Dungey quipped. “… It’s kind of crazy. Once you’re playing, things go by fast.”

Despite taking the majority of snaps at quarterback the past three seasons, Dungey and much-hyped redshirt freshman Tommy DeVito jockeyed for the starting job through fall camp. And though head coach Dino Babers said on Tuesday that the starting quarterback has been decided, he didn’t name them.

Dungey, who has played in 26 games — starting 25 of those — is the only signal caller on the Orange’s roster with any live, Division 1 experience.

While Babers wouldn’t name the starter, he did say he was excited to see both passers play Week one against Western Michigan.

“It all depends on how the score goes,” Babers said.

Dungey missed time last offseason after undergoing surgery on his right foot and DeVito started in the Spring Showcase while Dungey sat out. But it remains unlikely that DeVito has unseated Dungey from his starting role. But, baring and unexpected announcement, Dungey or DeVito will be starting on the field for the Orange next Friday.

Aug. 21: 

Senior quarterback Eric Dungey and the other quarterbacks threw passes to wide recievers to begin practice on Tuesday. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

Redshirt senior Antwan Cordy, who didn’t play last season due to injury, stretches with the defense before practice. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

Syracuse will need to replace 63.6 percent of its total receiving yards from a year ago with the departure of Ervin Philips and Steve Ishmael. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

Junior Devin C. Butler, who caught 33 passes for 327 yards in 2017, is a candidate for the top receiver spot. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

Syracuse head coach Dino Babers noted after practice that he’s decided who the starting quarterback is. He declined to name which player it will be. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

Babers noted that each year a reicever has stepped in to that top role. Thus far, this team hasn’t had that. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

Syracuse’s offensive line is its most experienced group as it returns four starters from a year ago.  Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

The Orange will host two more open practices this week, Wednesday and Thursday, before concluding training camp. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer

Aug. 17

Nearly a week after dominating the first scrimmage of camp, at least as far as Head Coach Dino Babers is concerned, Syracuse’s defense is ready for the second scrimmage.

“Ones versus ones, ones versus twos, we’re going to dominate them,” junior cornerback Christopher Fredrick said.

But despite beating back the offense, there are still questions to be answered on defense. For starters, the linebacking core is unknown. The depth chart in the defensive backfield isn’t set in stone and all this is backdropped by a shift to a 4-2-5 defense.

While that change has been easy for some, Fredrick said, himself included, it’s been harder on guys who have changed positions. He named Allen Stritzinger, who moved from running back to nickel back, as an example.

But, there’s help. Fredrick pointed out that Antwan Cordy, who’s spent his time at Syracuse bouncing around the secondary, has been a big help. Eric Coley, the back up strong safety, who has been practicing with the ones in Evan Foster’s absence this week, said Foster’s been an immeasurable help.

“When I’m out there and he’s on the side,” Coley said. “He’s coaching from the sideline and doing everything he can.”

The defensive backs also talked about how freshmen Andre Cisco and Trill Williams are adapting. Currently, Williams leads the team in camp interceptions, Fredrick said. He had two on Friday.

Fredrick noted when he came to campus his freshman year, he was about 170 pounds. But Williams, he said, is already physically imposing at 6-foot-2, 202 pounds.

Cisco ran with the first team during spring ball, and debuted as the starting free safety in the spring showcase. With Cordy potentially playing in the nickel, Cisco is a welcome newcomer at the position.

“He’s coming along really well,” Fredrick said of Cisco. “I feel like he can really help us. I feel like he’s going to have to play.”

During every portion of open practice this week, the defense has been working on outside pursuit — either pitches, handoffs or screen pass scenarios.

With upturned garbage cans serving as a makeshift offensive line, defensive ends practice recognizing the play, aborting their pass rush and pursuing the back end of the play. While that happens, the linebackers and defensive backs on that side of the field flood to the ball, trying to minimize an outside gain.

“The whole pursuit thing? That’s an every game thing,” Coley said.

Aug. 16

As the hot mornings of training camp ebb and a Sept. 1 game at Western Michigan looms, Syracuse’s wide receiver competition remains unsettled.

Devin Butler, Jamal Custis, Sean Riley and Nykeim Johnson, among others, are fighting for the lion’s share of targets and likely the No. 1 job. Meanwhile, freshmen Anthony Queeley, Ed Hendrix and Taj Harris are all challenging for playing time.

”This is the most ready I’ve seen freshmen come in,” Custis said Thursday.

Hendrix didn’t practice Thursday, though, and wore a large brace on his right leg.

The uncertainty at the position is a bit of uncharted territory for the Orange, because in both of Babers first two years, someone seized the top job during camp — Amba Etta-Tawo in 2016 and Steve Ishmael in 2017.

Butler brings the most experience — 33 catches for 327 yards and a touchdown in 2017 — but beyond him, the next best pass-catching option from last year is tight end Ravian Pierce.

At the end of spring practices, Babers said he was confident a clear No. 1 would emerge, just like in the past. But on Tuesday, Babers said it’s still a relatively open field after SU’s first scrimmage. This week of practice and the weekend’s upcoming scrimmage are chances for some of the younger players to make an impression and veteran options to solidify their standing, Babers said.

“We’re just a couple weeks out,” Custis said. “… We’re all trying to come out here and step up.”

Custis and Butler both echoed that at this point in camp, the receivers are trying to hone their skills and work on the nuances of the position.

But a point of concern around the position is dropped passes. Technically, coaches have emphasized watching the ball all the way into the hands. When a receiver loses the ball, it’ll likely be a drop, Butler said.

The junior wideout also tied fixing drops to confidence, and getting “cooking” as camping goes along.

As he catches more and more passes, Butler said Thursday, his confidence grows and like a shooter heating up in basketball, he wants the ball coming his way. That happens, and he’s “cooking,” he said. The more he’s “cooking,” the less a drop affects him.

“If you have a drop,” Butler said, “you’re confident that you’ll catch the next one. You have confidence in your hands, you understand everyone drops the ball once in a while.

“But you better not drop the next one.”

Aug. 14

Syracuse practiced with a slightly thinner roster on Tuesday, as several players were banged up following a scrimmage over the weekend.

The notable absences were running back Dontae Strickland, tight end Ravian Pierce and strong safety Evan Foster, who left practice with a brace on his left ankle. Defensive lineman Kendall Coleman remained out, too, though his injury stems from before the scrimmage.

“Just holding them out,” said SU head coach Dino Babers. “Guys are banged up. It was a good scrimmage. It was physical.”

The scrimmage, which was first-string offense versus first-string defense, Babers said, was dominated by the defense. The offense managed to score a few touchdowns, he said, but ultimately the defense proved dominant.

“No doubt I thought the defense got the best of the offense,” Babers said.

As far as making impressions on the coaching staff, Babers noted some guys stood out in the scrimmage, but he and the coaching staff want to see a level of consistency in practice, too.

“That was an ‘occasional,’” Babers said, leaning on his “consistently good, not occasionally great” maxim.

“But they really have a chance to make a move now,” he continued.

This consistency is likely needed most for the wide receivers, where the starting lineup is still murky.

At the open portion of Tuesday’s practice, the receivers looked smooth in their routes and drops were infrequent, despite the sure-handed Pierce sitting out.

After practice, Babers said that upperclassmen are leading the pack — likely Jamal Custis and Devin C. Butler — but noted that a few freshmen were looking good particularly after the scrimmage. He didn’t specify which freshmen, though.

“Competition is still going on,” Babers said. “… Some guys did some stuff at the first scrimmage, they’re going to have to back it up at the second scrimmage.”

The defense spent the first 10 minutes of Tuesday working on outside run fits.

While a defensive player filled in the role of opposing running back and tried to bounce outside, linebackers and defensive backs flooded to the ball, alternating between the right and left sides.

This drill will be key for Syracuse in trying to stop former SU offensive coordinator and current Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester’s multiple offense, which will likely feature heavy doses of outside runs.

Aug. 10

Three days after watching practice in a sling, offensive lineman Colin Byrne was in pads Friday doing drills with the rest of the offensive linemen.

While Byrne looked good in his return, other parts of the offense did not in the 10 minutes available to the media. Jamal Custis struggled to hold onto the football Friday morning, at one point dropping two passes in a row, and others struggled as well. After hauling in a scrimmage touchdown Thursday, Cam Jordan hit the deck for dropping a pass. In one stretch, three consecutive players dropped passes that were right on their hands.

Ravian Pierce has been a consistent threat in drills thus far for SU this week, running his routes well and bringing in the ball whenever he gets his hands on it.

Eric Dungey hit his spots well Friday, finding wideouts in stride and in strong positions to catch the ball. He spent much of the early portion of practice talking with Babers, as the coach pointed out different routes as the rest of the quarterbacks and wide receivers ran through drills.

Defensively, the linebacking core is working to find its chemistry and its rhythm on the field. An area of the team that had known nothing but consistency for the last four seasons is now forced to find a new core.

“We need everyone on the depth chart to know what’s going on, why it’s going on and how we’re going to do it,” middle linebacker Ryan Guthrie said. “We need guys to step up, we have guys that have stepped up, so we’re ready for the challenge.”

With the losses of Zaire Franklin and Parris Bennett to the NFL, the linebackers will have to work twice as hard, Guthrie said.

“But we have guys that can fill their shoes, however big they may be,” Guthrie said.

Aug. 9

The most noise to come out of Thursday’s practice was the crack that came from Dontae Strickland steamrolling through Evan Foster in a live, 11-on-11 practice. It was the first shown to the media this training camp.

The live practice showcased a few notes from camp. Aside from Strickland running hard, Eric Dungey may also have multiple weapons out of the slot, not just junior Sean Riley. Freshman Anthony Queeley has looked like a formidable threat out of the slot and has impressed many of the upperclassmen with his speed and ability to jump off the line.

“It comes natural to him,” Riley said. “He’s really good.”

---

---

Riley has had to take on a greater load as well entering this season. Previously he has been an alternate option, playing behind recent SU greats like Amba Etta-Tawo, Steve Ishmael and Ervin Philips. Coming into this season, as a weapon in the slot, the backfield and on returns, Riley has packed on 10 pounds of muscle for the added usage.

Many players emphasized the depth that is on this team at different offensive positions. Now behind Dungey is a former four-star recruit in quarterback in Tommy DeVito as well as another threat in Chance Amie. Additionally, “thunder and lightning” as Strickland and Moe Neal refer to themselves, looked poised to take the running game to the next level. In 2017, Syracuse’s four yards per carry ranked 84th in the nation. But in camp thus far, both Neal and Strickland have performed well in drills and this morning against the defense.

“I’m trying to get this team to a bowl game,” Strickland said.

The lone touchdown during the media available portion of practice this morning came on a pass from redshirt-junior quarterback Clayton Welch to redshirt-freshman wide receiver Cameron Jordan, who trotted into the end zone after making an easy catch in stride past Ifeatu Melifonwu.

Aug. 7 

Syracuse opened its second week of training camp in full pads Tuesday morning. No one delivered hits to another teammate in the 10 minutes allotted to media at the beginning of practice, but Syracuse head coach Dino Babers indicated there was contact through out the rest of practice.

“It was good to get (pads) on. The guys were eager to do some live stuff,” Babers said. “We’ve got to pass that stuff out, we just can’t do it every day. We had some periods where we let them go a little bit and it was fun. We had some owies but we didn’t have any major injuries so that’s always good.”

One key contributor with an “owie,” as Babers put it, is defensive lineman Alton Robinson, who Babers said had a sack today. Robinson’s injury remains undisclosed but he’ll be fine moving forward, Babers added.

Syracuse’s defense shift remained a heavy topic of conversation. The move to a 4-2-5 spread defense as opposed to a previous 4-3 base alignment comes as a response to more teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference switching to spread offenses, Babers said. The 4-2-5 emphasizes covering the field with more nimble secondary players and prevent the passing attack.

Some of it is also Syracuse’s personnel, Babers added. There is a lot of depth from the safety position, so in addition to adapting to the conference, he is also adapting to the roster.

---

---

With the defensive switch, moving to faster players, Babers still wants to have some large, heavy-hitting linebackers to induce fumbles.

“You’ve got to have some body weight to hit someone that hard (to force a loose ball),” Babers said. “There’s a reason lightweights don’t fight heavyweights,” Babers said.

With the switch to a 4-2-5 though, there is a chance Syracuse might start a freshman in the secondary. Andre Cisco, a defensive back out of IMG Academy (Florida), has really impressed in camp thus far, Babers said. He admitted that he won’t have a definitive idea of who’s starting until the scrimmages are over, but said Cisco is a name to watch.

“He’s been doing really well in practice. I haven’t seen him in a game,” Babers said. “But in practice he’s doing really really well.”

Aug. 3

Syracuse started its second day of training camp indoors where it would remain for the duration of media available practice. The team finished practice outside, though. In the brief glimpse the media had at the defense lining up in formation, it ran a drill out of the 4-2-5 spread look that is listed as the base defense in the media guide. If Syracuse sticks with the 4-2-5, it would be a shift from a 4-3 base alignment used the first two seasons under head coach Dino Babers.

“The assignments aren’t changing much, it’s just matchups depending on what type of team we play,” senior linebacker Kielan Whitner said on Wednesday.  “You know, maybe they have a quicker guy in the slot and you need a smaller guy to cover that, that’s really where we come to the 4-2-5.”

When Babers spoke prior to Whitner on Wednesday, he said he expected the defensive back unit to “embarrass them and make them grow up very quickly in camp,” in reference to the wide receiver unit. Redshirt senior Antwan Cordy, who has only been wearing a white jersey and not taking reps at receiver, affirmed his coach’s statement through two days of camp. 

---

---

“Yeah, like Dino Babers said, they’re still young in the receiving core you know,” Cordy said. “They’re just getting used to everything because most of the cornerbacks are hard to play.”

Videos from Day 2 of camp:

Aug. 2

In the first 10 minutes of practice, which is the allotted time for media viewing, the offense ran light drills while the defense stretched.

Quarterbacks and receivers ran routes vs. air (rva) drills around midfield. Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey, who missed the last three games of 2017 due to a broken foot, said he’s “full go” for training camp. He noted he’s been dunking basketballs and wake surfing on the foot this summer.

On opposite corners of the second field were the offensive line and the running backs. The O-line worked on footwork over boards while pushing blocking pads. The backfield stepped through elevated ladders. Sophomore Chris Elmore, who is listed as a defensive lineman and fullback, wore an orange offensive jersey and practiced with the backs.

On a lighter note, Syracuse didn’t kick off camp with the traditional “Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas.

Published on August 2, 2018 at 12:52 pm

Contact Matt: mdliberm@syr.edu