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Syracuse offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh is joining Arizona State as its run game coordinator and offensive line coach, Jacob Rudner of 247 Sports reported. Cavanaugh became a member of head coach Dino Babers’ staff for the 2018 season after spending three seasons at Nebraska.

The offensive line group improved tremendously in Cavanaugh’s first season with the Orange, recording a school record of 38 rushing touchdowns and increasing its rushing average by 37.7 yards from before his hire. SU went 10-3 that year, finished with over 6,000 yards of total offense and ranked 11th nationally in scoring, with 40.2 points per game.

Syracuse has been unable to return to that dominant offense, though, averaging only 17.8 points in its 2020 season. Last season, Cavanaugh’s unit dealt with injuries to key players and ranked 116th out of 126 teams in run blocking, according to PFF’s positional grades.

The most notable players from Cavanaugh’s group in 2018 were Evan Adams, who was cut by the Baltimore Ravens in 2020, and Cody Conway, who tried out with the Pittsburgh Steelers in December. Cavanaugh also coached current sophomore Matthew Bergeron, who was the first true freshman to start a game since 2002 and has been a vital part of Syracuse’s front line.