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Before the season opener of his seventh season at Syracuse, head coach Dino Babers addressed the media, with comments ranging from how SU is preparing for its opponent on Saturday — Louisville — to conference realignment, Name, Image and Likeness issues and why the Orange’s week one depth chart looks how it does. 

SU has only won one of its last eight meetings with the Cardinals, who blew out the Orange 41-3 at home last November. U of L quarterback Malik Cunningham totaled five touchdowns and helped solidify the game’s outcome by halftime, by which point the score was already 35-3.

But Babers is more confident in this year’s matchup against Louisville since Syracuse will be at full-health entering the game — something the Orange lacked in previous years when they’ve typically met the Cardinals in one of the season’s final few weeks. The game has extra meaning, Babers said, since it’s not only the season opener, but also the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for an SU program that’s gone 5-21 in ACC play over the last three years. 

“To go down 0-1 in conference, that’s a heavier weight than just losing,” Babers said. 

Depth chart notes

Syracuse’s week one depth chart, released Monday morning shortly before Babers spoke, included a few surprises. Most notably was the absence of redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Steve Linton, expected to be a starter or at least a significant contributor on the Orange’s front six. Linton played in seven of Syracuse’s final eight games last season, totaling six tackles and a sack. Babers described him during spring camp as an “extremely talented” player who still had a lot of work to do. 

Babers said Linton will still be available to play against Louisville, noting that he should be able to play “close to full speed.” Linton missed the first four games of last season while recovering from offseason surgery, and has been in and out of summer practices. Babers said the team is not being preventative by keeping Linton out of the lineup, but the defensive lineman has been battling legitimate injuries. Redshirt freshman Jatius Geer was listed as the week one defensive end starter in Linton’s place, joined on the line by Terry Lockett and Caleb Okechukwu. 

Oronde Gadsden II was listed as Syracuse’s No. 1 tight end alongside Max Mang. Gadsden appeared in eight games as a true freshman last season, catching two balls for 24 yards. At 6-foot-5, 216-pounds, he has spent more time with outside receivers in camp, potentially showing SU will use him outside as an extra passing target. The Orange used their tight ends sparingly last year, but their new offense this year is expected to utilize them in a larger role.

“He’s just a switchblade,” Babers said of Gadsden. “Even though he doesn’t have the weight, he has the ability and the toughness and the aggressiveness to go in there and get after people.”

True freshman LeQuint Allen earned the No. 2 running back spot behind Sean Tucker. Florida transfer Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is the No. 2 quarterback behind Garrett Shrader, an expected move after Dan Villari was shifted to wide receiver in practice last week. And Maximilian von Marburg, a freshman punter from Australia, appears to have won the starting job over returning No. 1 James Williams. Wide receiver Anthony Queeley, who registered the third-most receiving yardage out of any SU wideout last season, was not listed as well. 

Gearing up for Louisville

Louisville always seems to give Syracuse problems, and whether it’s been Lamar Jackson or Cunningham recording career marks, the Orange always seem to have trouble halting U of L’s offense in any sort of way. To sum it up with one statistic: over the two teams’ last seven meetings, the Cardinals have averaged over 44 points per game.

Babers said Syracuse doesn’t have any players who can replicate Cunningham’s elite dual-threat abilities in practice, saying that SU doesn’t have “anyone that can emulate him at all.” Linebacker Mikel Jones said last week that SU had been using backup quarterbacks like Dan Villari in practice to prepare for Cunningham. 

“He’s an electrifying player,” Babers said of Cunningham. “When he steps on the field, traditionally he’s the best football player on the field on both sides.”

Since Syracuse opens the season with Louisville, the team began its install for Saturday’s game during practices last week, in addition to time it’ll have this week to prepare. With it being both teams’ season opener, Babers said it’ll be a “game of adjustments” dependent on which areas Louisville has changed since last year. Both teams return a significant number of key starters and rank amongst the top five in the ACC in returning production. This puts SU in a difficult spot for a win considering last year’s scoreline, especially considering the number of impact players the Cardinals added through the transfer portal this offseason. 

“That football team is a doggone good football team, they’re well coached, and we know that it’s going to be a very, very tough game,” Babers said.  

A deep secondary

Syracuse returned several important pieces in its secondary this season, including Garrett Williams — who opted to not declare for the NFL Draft and return to school — and Freshman All-American Duce Chestnut. Other notable contributors Justin Barron, Ja’Had Carter and Rob Hanna also return, in addition to transfers Alijah Clark (Rutgers) and Bralyn Oliver (Louisville), providing the Orange with a deep and potentially strong secondary if it can stay healthy.

Barron and Hanna split the starting rover position in the back end of SU’s 3-3-5 defense last season, and Babers said Barron is finally pain-free for the first time in over a year. The sophomore missed spring practices while recovering from offseason back surgery. 

Considering the amount of depth Babers has in his secondary, the head coach said it was the toughest group for him to decide when building the depth chart for week one. He said the backups — Jason Simmons Jr., Oliver, Hanna, Jeremiah Wilson and Isaiah Johnson — are all in position to compete for snaps this season. 

“I’m telling you right now, we can call them twos, but they’re like 1.5s to me,” Babers said of the backups. “Those guys can play. It’s gonna be interesting to see how that continues to move during the season.”

Published on August 29, 2022 at 6:03 pm

Contact Connor: csmith49@syr.edu | @csmith17_