Syracuse football returns healthier out of the bye week. SU head coach Dino Babers announced Monday that tight end Ravian Pierce will play against North Carolina on Saturday. Pierce, normally a starter for the Orange, missed the last three games due to an “upper body injury.”

After missing most of the Pittsburgh game due to injury, Antwan Cordy will be ready for UNC as well, Babers said, adding that the redshirt senior safety was “flying around yesterday with a big smile on his face.”

Prior to discussing injuries, Babers announced that redshirt freshman Andre Szmyt is now on a full scholarship. Szmyt, previously a walk-on, has made 16-of-17 field goals this season, including three longer than 50 yards. Earlier Monday morning, Szmyt was named a midseason All-American by ESPN.

Babers said his team didn’t spend the week off in total rest. After Syracuse’s (4-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) best start under the three-year head coach, the Orange practiced hard, just for shorter time periods, Babers said.

“It’s more of a cultural thing than anything else,” Babers said. “If we were more of a veteran group and we’ve had three of four winning seasons behind us, we might’ve went about it a different way. But we’re not that, and I want them to understand how tough it is. And if we’re able to accomplish the goals that we’re trying to accomplish, they’ll appreciate it.”

On Monday morning, the first coach to hire Babers to a college coaching staff, Bob Spoo, died at 80. Spoo coached Eastern Illinois from 1987-2011 before Babers replaced him in 2012.

Babers remembered eating dinner at the Spoo family home in his late 20s. He noted the coaching tree Spoo built and commended him for a 25-year coaching tenure, amassed from ages 50-75.

“There’s no doubt there’s a lot of Bob Spoo in me,” Babers said. “And the way he does things is exactly right.”

Published on October 15, 2018 at 2:00 pm

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44