The way Zaire Franklin sees it, Syracuse’s secondary has one option: next man up. It’s a phrase out of the old coaching staff’s book, but it holds true for the situation it’s in right now.

“It’s just, there’s nothing else you can do,” said Franklin, middle linebacker and de facto captain of the defense. “Injuries are part of the game.”

The 62 points and 845 yards allowed in the loss to then-No. 13 Louisville were bad. But loss of starters Antwan Cordy and Juwan Dowels, a safety and cornerback, respectively, could be worse. Both players left the game with injuries and didn’t return. SU head coach Dino Babers said on Wednesday that their statuses are still unknown.

Their injuries hit a defensive back group that was thin to begin with. Redshirt senior cornerback Wayne Morgan hasn’t played since being hurt in training camp about a month ago and freshman safety Devon Clarke has not dressed all season. Junior college cornerback Michael Moore and incoming freshman safety James Pierre signed to join the Orange this season, but neither qualified.

Here’s a breakdown of the state of the Syracuse secondary.

What went wrong against Louisville?

 Safety Kielan Whitner was quick to blame the players for their execution against the Cardinals. He said the coaches consistently had them in the right spots, but the plays weren’t made.

“That was all on the players,” he said. “I wouldn’t put any of that on the coaches.”

Safety Daivon Ellison thought there was miscommunication throughout the game. He said one side of the defense would sometimes play one way while the other side would play another. He thought that was all a result of some players being confused by the different sets that Louisville came out in.

“People were just playing to fast and wasn’t reading it correctly,” Ellison said.

The result was two 60-plus yard pass plays for Louisville within its first three offensive snaps. The Cardinals caught Cordy looking into the backfield on at 72-yard touchdown for the first play from scrimmage.

Chase Guttman | Staff Photographer

Who’s left? 

The only starters remaining from the UofL game are redshirt junior cornerback Corey Winfield and Whitner.

After that, there’s redshirt sophomore cornerback Cordell Hudson, who started the first game of the season and freshman cornerback Carl Jones, who played snaps in place of Dowels. Cordy’s safety spot was filled by Ellison and redshirt sophomore Rodney Williams, who was hurt for much of the preseason.

But the Orange will likely have to dip deeper into its reserves than that.  That means freshman Evan Foster, who was hurt during camp, at safety. Then there’s redshirt freshman cornerback Christopher Fredrick, new walk-on from the track team Winston Lee and senior Joe Stanard, who has never played a down.

“Guys just have to step up and got to become some players,” Eillison said. “Cant focus on like who’s missing or not. We just gotta keep our heads forward just keep working.”

Foster put down the biggest hit on the first day of contact during camp, Whitner said. And Ellison declared on Wednesday that “(Foster’s) time is coming.”

What changes?

Babers said he’ll evaluate the current depth in the secondary and decide whether or not it’ll suffice.  If he needs to, he’ll manufacture depth by practicing someone at defensive back who wasn’t previously there.

As of Wednesday, no one new had joined the secondary for drills, Ellison said.

On third down and long, Syracuse often puts three safeties on the field, but without going three deep. Cordy’s versatility allowed him to move up to a cornerback spot while either Ellison or Williams slid in behind.

Ellison said the coaches didn’t address any changes in the third-and-long defense yet. Whitner said the team can still do the same thing, citing Ellison’s versatility.

Published on September 16, 2016 at 1:22 am

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus