Syracuse linebacker Doug Hogue’s best friend was on the sidelines watching him play for the first time, so he couldn’t disappoint.

Yes, his teammate Derrell Smith was watching, not playing. He was a spectator seated behind the linebackers bench versus Rutgers, nursing an injured knee. The Orange’s middle linebacker and centerpiece of the defense, Smith got a message from his best friend before the game began.

‘Yo ‘Rell, this is for you,’ Hogue said.

Hogue filled Smith’s shoes — and then some — as the defense leader against the Scarlet Knights, setting a new Syracuse single-game record with 6.5 tackles for loss along with 3.5 sacks. His performance earned him a national defensive Player of the Week award.

The performance helped Syracuse to a 31-13 win that showed the potential for what the football program could become under second-year coach Doug Marrone.

‘I’ve never seen (anybody) in person play that well in my life,’ Smith said. ‘It was crazy what he did.’

Best friends, teammates, roommates. Whatever you’d like to call them, Smith and Hogue are the foundation of a Syracuse defense that is expected to be the strong side of the team in 2010. The Orange defense ranked 13th against the run last season, but looks to improve its 85th-ranked pass defense. With a new quarterback and a young offensive unit overall, SU will rely on its defensive unit to keep pressure off of the offense.

That starts with Smith and Hogue. They were two of the 51 players named to the Butkus Award watch list, which recognizes the top preseason candidates for the best linebacker in the country.

Said Hogue: ‘Seeing guys coming back again, with another year on the defense and a firm grip on how the defense is run, we expect to do a lot of big things.’

Smith and Hogue’s strong bond comes from their similar backgrounds. Both linebackers were originally recruited by Syracuse to play running back. Smith wasn’t widely recruited coming out of New Castle, Del. Most big schools only recruit in Delaware when they key on a specific player, said Mike Farrell, a football recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. Smith wasn’t that player. With spread offenses and small, fast backs becoming the new fad, Smith had trouble getting noticed with his goal-line back body.

But Syracuse wanted to take a chance on him, and Smith liked SU. Smith is a big Donovan McNabb fan — he wore No. 5 when he played for Hodgson Vo-Tech High School. Soon enough, he was a member of the Orange. In 2007, he got the first carries of his career in the season opener against Washington, rushing for 19 yards on five carries.

He wasn’t destined to play running back, though. Linebacker was his calling. Two games into that sophomore campaign, he flipped over to linebacker. It was tough to move from offense to defense in-season, but Smith’s work ethic made the transition less rocky.

‘He did anything that was beneficial to help out the team,’ said Frank Moffett, Smith’s high school coach. ‘I always joke with him that I was grooming him for linebacker. He was a cornerback, and his senior year we changed our scheme and moved him to outside linebacker.’

Hogue was a much more acclaimed recruit out of high school. It was a big recruiting win for the Orange when he chose Syracuse over Penn State. Thus, he came in with high expectations. Those high hopes were validated when he broke off an 82-yard touchdown run against Rutgers in 2008.

Last year was supposed to be Hogue’s transition year. In an effort to get such an athletic player more playing time, he was shifted from running back to linebacker. There were certainly some early struggles, but Smith was there to help ease the transition. He took Hogue under his wing.

‘When (Hogue) came over, obviously it was a little rough at first, coming in to a whole different side of the ball,’ Smith said. ‘(But) I really didn’t help him. He helped himself. You see what he did last year.’

Hogue disagrees. Having Smith as a mentor was one of the contributing factors in a successful 2009 for Hogue. Here was a guy who had been through all of the same situations two years earlier that Hogue was going through now.

Hogue was a quick learner. He made positive strides every week, culminating in his banner day against Rutgers — the same team he burned on the other side of the ball a year earlier.

‘I remember Derrell telling Doug, ‘Now you can be the man’ (after Smith’s injury),’ SU linebackers coach Dan Conley said. ‘He was kind of teasing him a bit, but (Doug) had a lot of support from Derrell. I think they’re both going to be leaders of the football team.’

With six freshman linebackers on the squad, it’s obviously important to have leaders like Smith and Hogue. They are mentors for the players who will replace them a year from now. But it’s not like there was any doubt that these best friends could step up as leaders.

‘When we came in, we felt the same way they felt,’ Smith said. ‘We went through the same things (they’re) going through. It’s easy to try and help them out and to teach them the ropes so that they don’t have to go through the troubles we went through when we first got here.’

But even though being a leader is nice, Smith and Hogue know Syracuse needs to start winning now. A long-term plan to build up the program is of no use to Smith and Hogue. Smith is a redshirt senior who has already graduated and is now going for his master’s degree. This is Hogue’s senior year.

They plan on going out with a bang. Whether the season ends in a bowl game or not, Smith and Hogue will be giving it their all to help the Orange reach that stage for the first time since 2004. And even if it may seem like a longshot, these two have beaten the odds their entire career.

‘Everyone’s got to catch on fast,’ Smith said. ‘As leaders, that’s our job — to bring the young guys along to where we think they are right now. To build the whole culture of the program in (the) tune that we don’t give up. We don’t quit. And that you do everything to perfection. Perfection is the goal.

‘Even though it’s probably not attainable, perfection is the goal.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on September 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr