The next step of the Dino Babers era began on Tuesday when Syracuse held its first spring practice. Babers replaced Scott Shafer as the Orange’s head coach when he was hired on Dec. 5. After spending two years at Eastern Illinois and two at Bowling Green, Babers has a 37-16 record as a head coach. Here are some key storylines to keep an eye on during spring practices, which last until SU’s spring game on April 2.

1. The hurry-up spread offense and the quarterback’s role

The most notable piece that Babers brings with him to Syracuse is his offensive scheme. He worked on the staff at Baylor under head coach Art Briles from 2008-11. Briles’ up-tempo scheme helped bring the Bears to national prominence.

Last season, Syracuse used an offense built around the option play. While Babers will likely keep the quarterback in shotgun often, it’s a far cry from the scheme that former offensive coordinator Tim Lester ran. After Tuesday’s practice, quarterback Eric Dungey said he won’t be running nearly as much as he did last season. Dungey missed the last three games in 2015 and took several hits to the head throughout the year while scrambling out of the pocket.

2. Defensive end depth

Syracuse doesn’t have any defensive ends with collegiate experience at the position. Spring ball provides an opportunity for the Orange to sort out who could potentially fill the void left by a host of players that are no longer with the program.

Redshirt-freshmen Jake Pickard and Kenny Carter are SU’s only returning defensive ends, but neither played in a game as true freshmen in 2015. Syracuse has moved linebacker Kenneth Ruff, a freshman who enrolled a semester early, and tight end Trey Dunkelberger to the Orange’s weakest position.

At the conclusion of last season, Luke Arciniega announced that he wouldn’t be using his final year of eligibility after suffering several injuries over the course of his career. Ron Thompson declared for the NFL Draft despite having another year of eligibility, and Amir Ealey and Qaadir Sheppard were both dismissed from the team.

That leaves a hodge-podge of players looking to fill the spot.

3. Where the ex-hybrids will play

Lester used a position called the hybrid, where a skill-position player would line up either in the backfield as a running back, the slot as a wide receiver or on the wing similar to a tight end. Ervin Philips, Ben Lewis and Dontae Strickland played the position last season. Though Lewis decided to forgo his final year of eligibility due to health concerns, Philips and Strickland return from the group.

At the first practice, Philips worked with the wide receivers while Strickland worked with the running backs. After, both Philips and Strickland said it’s easier for them to focus solely on one position instead of preparing to line up in multiple spots.

News and notes

Junior linebacker Zaire Franklin wore a red jersey in practice on Tuesday, meaning that he was limited. When asked about a potential injury, Babers didn’t specify why he had the jersey on, only disclosing that it’s up to the medical staff.

Syracuse’s offense wore orange practice jerseys on Tuesday while the defense wore white and quarterbacks wore black. Under Shafer, the offense would wear green, the defense would wear red and quarterbacks and limited participants wore white.

Published on February 25, 2016 at 12:24 am

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds