Alec Lemon and Marcus Sales are gone. Jarrod West, Jeremiah Kobena and Adrian Flemming are Syracuse’s new top outside targets.

All three played in 2012, but none filled as significant a role as they will this year.

Despite the unit’s glaring inexperience, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said on the Atlantic Coast Conference teleconference Wednesday morning he’s confident in his wide receivers. He believes they can be deep threats and keep defenses honest.

“I feel good about it,” Shafer said. “I really do.”

He said Flemming and Kobena both made nice plays down the field during practice recently. Christopher Clark is also expected to be an integral part of Syracuse’s passing attack and has looked sharp so far.

But West is the No. 1 option. He snagged 43 passes for 588 yards and two touchdowns a year ago and is expected to catch considerably more passes this season.

Clark, Flemming and Kobena, meanwhile, caught just 17 passes among them last season. Flemming didn’t reel in any. But Shafer and West both believe the unit is ready and has improved during the preseason.

“It’s fun to play with this group of guys,” West said Tuesday. “It’s one of the most athletic groups I’ve ever played with.”

North Carolina’s Tabb to be featured on offense and defense
Jack Tabb was ESPNU’s No. 11 tight end coming out of high school. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound junior Tabb was a steady presence at tight end during his first two years. He also played a little special teams.

Now he’s expanding his repertoire even more, North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora said Wednesday. Due to a plethora of nagging injuries to the Tar Heels’ defense, there’s a good chance Tabb will play linebacker as well.

“That’s the plan as of tonight,” Fedora said. “We will see where it goes tomorrow at 6, but right now, he’s prepared to play at both spots, yes.”

North Carolina kicks off the college football season against rival No. 6 South Carolina at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Fedora has no doubt Tabb can make the jump to playing linebacker in addition to tight end and on special teams. In fact, Fedora said Tabb was recruited to play both sides of the ball and is a generally savvy football player.

He said Tabb doesn’t need many repetitions. He’s a really quick learner and his natural instincts kick in during games.

“We are very fortunate in that aspect,” Fedora said, “because obviously when you’re trying to do both, you’re taking fewer reps on both sides of the ball.”

Campanaro back for Wake Forest
When Wake Forest’s star wide receiver Michael Campanaro injured his hand against Duke on Sept. 29 last season, the Demon Deacons’ season took a turn for the worse.

After starting out 3-1, Wake Forest lost six of its last eight games and went 1-2 in games Campanaro missed at least part of.

Now Campanaro’s back, and Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe is expecting big things out of the senior.

“He’s the guy that on every snap we wanted to try to find a way to give him the football,” Grobe said.

Campanaro finished last season with 79 catches, which ranked fourth in school history, for 763 yards and six touchdowns. Wake Forest struggled to generate any semblance of a passing game last season, but now that Campanaro’s back its offense figures to be more potent.

“You’ve got a player that’s as good a player as Mike,” Grobe said, “you just can’t find enough ways to get the ball in his hands.”

Published on August 29, 2013 at 1:14 am

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass