FORT DRUM, N.Y. — On Wednesday, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said that the first team wouldn’t see much of the field during the Orange’s scrimmage at Fort Drum on Thursday.

The SU coaching staff mostly stuck to that game plan, and here are some offensive takeaways from the 55-play intra-squad game.

1. Ervin Philips

With the second- and third-team players getting a lot of reps in the scrimmage, Ervin Philips was arguably the most impressive.

Aside from fumbling a Riley Dixon punt — the freshman running back was the only player fielding punts — Philips found holes at the line of scrimmage and was effective bouncing outside.

“A couple young guys jumped out. Ervin Phillips looked good,” Shafer said. “I thought you guys had a chance to see his quickness, his ability to make people miss.”

Philips got a ton of touches on the last two drives of the scrimmage, one led by Austin Wilson and the other by Mitch Kimble, and the game ended with the freshman running for a 10-yard touchdown. Philips got an inside handoff from Kimble before bouncing off the tackle and finding the edge.

The entire offense ran into the end zone to dance around Philips after the score.

2. Mitch Kimble and Austin Wilson

After the scrimmage, Shafer added another layer to the backup quarterback race.

“A.J. (Long) didn’t play today, he’s got a little shoulder irritation. He’s kind of been in front of the other two as of late,” Shafer said. “But I thought both Austin and Mitch put some reps out there.

“We got some work to do, but the good thing is we got three kids working out and they’re competing well. We’ll see.”

With Long calling in plays from the sideline, sophomores Wilson and Kimble battled it out for one of the team’s depth chart battles. Wilson conducted four drives while Kimble conducted three, and Wilson looked more comfortable dealing with pressure from the Syracuse’s front seven. Wilson was able to make quick decisions before the pocked collapsed on him, whether he was throwing a screen or further downfield.

Kimble was flushed out of the pocket on multiple occasions, forcing the coaches to blow plays dead for make-believe sacks.

With that said, neither Wilson or Kimble’s accuracy was particularly on point.

3. Ashton Broyld

Syracuse’s reigning leading receiver was a popular target for Terrel Hunt on Thursday.

With H-backs Brisly Estime and Sean Avant currently out with injuries and freshman Corey Cooper announcing his transfer from the team on Wednesday night, Broyld was a viable screen option for Hunt. He caught two screens in the first four plays of the first drive, and picked up extra yards with his shiftiness.

Shafer said that Broyld as well as sophomore Troy Green have stepped into the H-back role when asked about the position earlier in the week.

On Hunt’s second drive, freshman safety Rodney Williams broke up a would-be touchdown by blanketing Broyld on the tail end of a wheel route. The offense ran the exact same play on the next down, and Broyld gained a step on Williams to catch the pass and roll into the end zone for a score.

Other notes

• Josh Parris was Hunt’s favorite tight end target and also the only tight end he targeted on the day. Parris ran mostly seam and out routes and most of his catches came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Hunt also worked the ball to freshman Jamal Custis, who is currently listed as a receiver but has also worked in practice as a tight end.

• Junior kicker Ryan Norton was 4-for-4 on field goals, hitting two from 27 yards and two more from 37. Dixon held on all four of the attempts.

Published on August 14, 2014 at 9:58 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse