ROCHESTER – Marcus Sales re-emerged to Syracuse fans in the same way he left them. Fifteen months and eight days after hauling in his third touchdown against Kansas State in the Pinstripe Bowl, Sales reached the end zone twice in his first public appearance with the Orange since being suspended.

He scored the first touchdown of SU’s scrimmage on a quick out route and added a beautiful second score in which he snagged a low slant pass.

‘He’s had a very good camp,’ Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone said. ‘We’re very excited about the way he’s playing. He had a heck of a catch down here in the third down, and he has the ability to make those catches.’

The strong play from Sales, a player who did not play during the 2011 season, captured the theme of Saturday’s practice at Sahlen’s Stadium. Orange fans caught an extended glimpse of several younger players who will play larger roles in 2012. A few hundred spectators watched as SU went through team drills and then a series of controlled scrimmages in a two-hour workout.

It was the second straight year Syracuse held a spring practice in Rochester. Saturday marked the first open practice of the spring season. Marrone decided to close the practices to ‘further the development of the program,’ and all media opportunities for players and coaches were removed as well.

Marrone was the lone member of the football program available to the media after Saturday’s practice.

‘Just to close a couple practices to make sure you should be doing what you’re doing,’ he said. ‘I don’t look at it as closed or trying to hide anything. We were just trying to figure out ourselves exactly what we wanted to be doing before we took it out to the public.’

One of the most noticeable aspects of Saturday’s practice was the lack of depth due in part to the absence of 15 players. Marrone said players missed the practice due to injuries and academic concerns.

He did not identify which players were injured and which had potential academic issues.

The reduced numbers allowed spectators the chance to view some of the new faces that will be playing larger roles in the upcoming season. Sales led the way with his two touchdown grabs, and tailbacks Jerome Smith and Prince-Tyson Gulley joined him offensively.

Smith impressed right from his first carry of the scrimmage, bursting through the offensive line for a gain of 11 yards. He took his second carry for 19 yards.

‘I thought Jerome played extremely well today,’ Marrone said. ‘Jerome has been having a very good spring. … What you saw today is probably consistent with what’s been going on through the spring with Jerome.’

Gulley, who missed the second half of 2011 after suffering a broken collarbone, looked very elusive in his role as a change-of-pace back. He ripped off several big gains throughout the afternoon, but he also fumbled twice.

As expected, Gulley and Smith received the bulk of their handoffs from presumed starting quarterback Ryan Nassib. He split snaps with Charley Loeb, John Kinder and freshman Ashton Broyld.

Marrone said one of the points of emphasis during spring practice has been expanding the role of the quarterback to include running plays. He said this isn’t specific to one person, rather the position overall.

Kinder showed the ability to get outside the pocket quickly as well as some elusiveness, and Broyld saw reps at both quarterback and running back because of his ‘ability to make plays,’ Marrone said.

‘Obviously you saw today we have some quarterback runs in, and we’ll be looking to see our quarterback run a little bit more,’ he said.

Notable players missing from the offense Saturday were running back Steve Rene and receivers Jarrod West and Kyle Foster.

Defensively, most of the changes for the Orange were visible in the secondary. With the departures of Kevyn Scott and Phillip Thomas, multiple positions are open for competition before the 2012 season kicks off.

Sophomores Shu Mungwa and Durell Eskridge, along with junior Jeremi Wilkes, split time at the safety spot opposite returning starter Shamarko Thomas. Two more sophomores, Ritchy Desir and Brandon Reddish, saw time at cornerback.

Mungwa, who was injured for the 2011 season, was a player Marrone singled out as one he’s particularly happy to see back and healthy.

‘It’s great to see Shutang out there,’ Marrone said. ‘He was injured all last year. I told him, ‘It’s great to see you run and not limping anymore.”

Up front for the Orange, senior Deon Goggins looked very impressive. He recorded a sack and a forced fumble early in the scrimmage. After losing both starting defensive ends, Chandler Jones and Mikhail Marinovich, to graduation, Goggins will likely see time at both the defensive tackle and defensive end positions. He spent the 2011 season at the tackle spot.

Marrone was pleased with the way his team performed for the first time in front of fans and media. He said players are excited with where the program is headed and can see that the changes being implemented are benefiting the team overall.

Syracuse has two more weeks of closed practice before its second and final open session during the annual spring game April 21.

‘We didn’t want to give anyone a false impression of who were going to be coming out in the season, so we closed a couple (practices),’ Marrone said.

‘The level of focus, obviously, will be higher if you close all the distractions down.’

This and that

Ivan Foy and Lou Alexander filled in on the right side of the offensive line for departed seniors Andrew Tiller and Michael Hay. … Ross Krautman went 3-for-3 on field goal attempts. … Donnie Simmons and Brandon Sharpe saw time at defensive end in place of the graduated Chandler Jones and Mikhail Marinovich. … Ri’Shard Anderson, Ritchy Desir and Lewellyn Coker all had interceptions for the Orange.

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on April 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13