Syracuse Football

The scoreboard read Anselmo 9, Moore 0, but the score of the annual Syracuse Orange spring football game was not what spectators were watching. Rather, fans wanted to make their opinions of a team coming off a late-season collapse that saw a legitimate chance of a second consecutive bowl bid slip out of reach. 

What they saw had to impress, especially in areas with giant question marks. First, I have been saying that the wide receiver position was going to make or break the 'Cuse offense. Ryan Nassib is in his senior year and lost Van Chew to the NFL draft, leaving Alec Lemon to carry the load. Lemon missed the game due to an unspecified injury that has also kept him from spring practices. 

Kobena played well and was able to haul in a deep fade in the beginning of the fourth quarter to put team Anselmo out of harms reach. (Nassib was in the end zone as he released the 48-yard deep ball.) But Kobena was backed up by reinstated player Marcus Sales. Sales looked good as he hauled in two catches of over 30 yards. Nassib still needs work on his deep fades, though.

Each time he under-threw the fade to the receiver's opposite shoulder, forcing the wideout to turn around and head towards the sidelines. An athletic corner would be able to intercept or at least deflect these kinds of passes. Many times, they almost were. (Although, Nassib juked Jeremy Wilkes out of his shoes by the goal line. GIF, anyone?) 

Nassib was also constantly on the run. There were many designed roll outs for him in this game, but he is nowhere near as accurate as he is in the pocket. Twice he missed wide open receivers while throwing on the run, one aimed more for the cheerleaders than tight end Beckett Wales. 

Wales will be replacing Nick Provo's role as Nassib's safety outlet and midfield target. Wales looked much better than expected. He will be provide time for star recruit Ron Thompson to learn the system, leading me to think that next year's tight ends will be the primary offensive weapons. 

As for the ground game, the Orange struggled. Prince-Tyson Gulley and Jerome Smith split time as the main runners, and Smith looked much slimmer from last year. A source said he has been working on more lateral movement to complement his power game. Syracuse could have a great slash-and-bash combo if the line can open up holes.

The X-factor will be Ashton Broyld. Used today as a shotgun running back and wideout, he could make an impact if the ball is in his hands. He showed the ability to run after the catch and see the field. He has speed and explosiveness—the problem is going to be mixing him in effectively without telegraphing plays to the defense. 

On the offensive line, the reality is that they are really hurt this spring. Things could change quickly with this unit when healthy. 

The defense was the story of today's game with their dominating ability and scored the only points on an early safety and a fumble recovery. Again, looking at the injury list, the Orange could be missing some key cogs for a while and the summer will be a time for adjusting the strategy. 

Cornerback Brian Reddish looked really good and is making a case for a starting shot. If he and Keon Lynn can become a solid one-two duo, Shamarko Thomas will be more free to be the hard-hitting safety he is. 

If the defense is this good all year, the Orange have a legitimate shot to hang in games with anybody. On the flip side, some would argue the defense is not really all that good and the fact that the offense struggled so much is cause for an early panic button. 

Regardless, it's only April 21, and the Orange don't open the season for another three months.

The Syracuse Orange's schedule for 2012 is not going to be easy but will feature the Orange on national television more than a few times, with the marquee game being played against the USC Trojans (a presumed No. 1 or 2 in many polls) at Metlife Stadium in the Medowlands. 

Syracuse is joining the trend of hosting a football "event" as a home game off campus. Virginia Tech and Georgia are the most recent examples of teams to set the tone.

The Orange's partnership with the Medowlands extends through at least the 2016 season, with Penn State and Notre Dame to "visit" the Orange and the potential for even more through at least 2019. 

The move has made some unhappy with the Syracuse Athletic Department, and the most recent and perhaps vocal critic was the Syracuse Post Standard. Syracuse's premier newspaper took aim at Doctor Daryl Gross in their editorial section this week, saying that the schedule hurt the loyal local fans of Central New York.

The article sparked both support and defense of the Orange athletic department from many prominent members of the Syracuse sports media community. Among the most accurate and prominent is radio host and online contributor Brent Axe.

Blogger Sean Keeley of SB Nation took a more moderate stance of support, but the bottom line is that this debate has only further sparked the debate taking place over the direction of Syracuse Athletics under Gross. 

Now in his eighth year at the helm of Syracuse athletics, Doctor Gross is in charge of revitalizing a football program that used to be on par with its legendary basketball team. The Greg Robinson era definitively ended that mantle, and Doctor Gross is trying to climb Everest with a divided team around him. 

But he is doing it the right way. 

Gross realized that first major issue with Syracuse was its lack of sufficient athletic facilities for football. Thus, Gross has been "aggressively" campaigning for a new football complex.

While the recently leaked photos are not the actual plans for a new facility, Gross is fund-raising for what is a recruiting necessity at 'Cuse.   

Back to the Medowlands games—the crux of the debate but the ultimate reason Gross is handling this correctly. The Orange moved to the ACC for the same exact reason they are scheduling games at Metlife: football revenue. 

The ACC has a much better contract with the same company as the Big East (ESPN), and it is only expected to increase with Pitt and Syracuse joining the fray. 

This is not the same football climate where Syracuse thrived. Teams don't make money out of sold-out games in 50,000-person domes—they do it by selling out 85.000-plus seated stadiums and playing on national television. 

Just look at the SEC for how to build more than just a few successful teams but rather a successful conference. Huge television contract with CBS, huge stadiums on campuses with NFL-caliber facilities lead to huge national profiles, which then lead to recruits to fuel the cycle more. 

The game in Metlife brings in three programs with national followings that appeal to television: USC, Notre Dame and Penn State (Penn State alums still support this team, but that's a different conversation).

The Orange get guaranteed time on ESPN or ABC with this game and all the other ones to follow. Doug Marrone can waive the guaranteed option of playing in one of the newest and most modern NFL stadiums on national television to recruits. The subsequent television revenue will help fund new facilities that will entice even more recruits. 

I'm sure a Nike Pro-Combat uniform is in the works at some point, seeing that shiny new uniforms also entice recruits. Just don't make them grey, erm, platinum please. 

This is the way to make money in today's college game. Big-time college athletic departments make money off of football, and above is the proven formula for making money off of football. 

If the Orange faithful want more games at home, first sell out the Dome (something that didn't happen the last time the Orange brought a big-time player into CNY) before even bringing up the argument. Syracuse is in full rebuilding mode and is doing all that it can to keep pace with other programs. 

So while this the USC Trojans and Orange are battling in the Medowlands, just remember the end goal of National Prominence and what has to be done to achieve that in today's new college football landscape. 

So just recently, I saw Todd McShay and Mel Kiper's new mock drafts. For the most part, they made sense, or at least more than their earlier mocks.

However, there was one pick which made me stop, read it again, and then just stare in utter confusion for a few minutes. Chandler Jones in the first round.

McShay had Jones going to the Patriots at No. 27 overall. Kiper was even worse, mocking Jones to the Chargers at No. 18 overall. To make matters even more confusing, they both had him going before USC defensive end Nick Perry.

If anyone is unfamiliar with either of these players, I'll take a moment to fill you in: Nick Perry is better than Chandler Jones in nearly every category there is a number for. To show you how big the disparity is, I'll give you their numbers from the 2011 season.

Jones: 38 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, one interception, two forced fumbles, two broken-up passes and three quarterback hurries.
Perry: 54 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and three broken-up passes.

Jones had an interception and three quarterback hurries more than Perry. Even if you converted all those hurries into actual sacks, Jones still wouldn't catch up to Perry.

OK, you say, so what about the NFL combine? Maybe Jones had a great combine that vaults him over Perry. Nope. Let's compare:

Jones: 22 on bench, 4.85 second 40-yard dash, 10' broad jump, 35" vertical jump.
Perry: 35 on bench, 4.5 second 40-yard dash, 10'4" broad jump, 38.5" vertical jump.

Jones didn't participate in the 10 yard split, where Perry clocked in at a very good 1.56 seconds.

Now, obviously there is more to a prospect than his numbers, but there, again, Nick Perry has the edge. Jones has a history of injury, whereas Perry is squeaky clean, having started every game for the last three years.

Chandler Jones did miss several games due to injury, but he also played in the Big East against easy competition, while Nick Perry had to face offensive tackles like Jonathan Martin, Tony Bergstrom and Senio Kelemente in the Pac 12.

No matter how I look at it, I can't come up with a single area where Chandler Jones beats Nick Perry. So the inevitable conclusion I have to reach is that Jones is simply an inferior prospect.

And if you'll go back and review those numbers, you'll see it isn't by a razor thin margin either. Jones isn't even in the same league as first rounders like Nick Perry and Whitney Mercilus (Mercilus beats Jones by an even bigger margin). Jones is a third rounder at best.

If you ask me, the defensive ends, in order from best to Chandler Jones are:

Quinton Coples
Whitney Mercilus
Nick Perry
Melvin Ingram
Vinny Curry
Andre Branch
Cam Johnson
Jake Bequette
Chandler Jones

If I were a GM, I wouldn't take Chandler Jones any earlier than the third round, and only then if all eight defensive ends I have ranked above him were gone. Chandler Jones being put in the first round is just something I don't even begin to understand.

So I just don't get it. Every year, there are a few rankings that simply don't make sense. Last year it was Da'Quan Bowers as the No. 1 overall prospect—this year it's Chandler Jones.

Is he a good prospect? Yes. Can he be a very good defensive end in the NFL? Yes. Is he worth spending a first-round draft pick on? Absolutely not.

After being arrested for attempting to shoplift cologne from the Syracuse Carousel mall,  Syracuse Orange backup quarterback Terrel Hunt could be getting another shot at the team. 

Coach Marrone had previously stated that Hunt would miss the 15 sessions of spring ball due to this infraction, and it has been unclear for how long Hunt's suspension would last. 

Today on his Facebook page, Hunt stated: 

Meetings at four.. Cant wait to be back on that field again.. Feels like nothin in the world bothers u once ur at home

This could mean anything really, but there is a good chance that sometime in the next week or two, Marrone could issue a definitive statement as to how much longer Hunt will be off the team. 

Spring has been interesting for the Orange, and Marrone has decided to close off practice to the media. This has led to bloggers and journalists being left to grab whatever information they can off of Twitter and other forms of social media. 

Some have even taken to creating mock practice reports as fans and media alike wonder what exactly is going on.  

Regardless, Hunt's post is the first real tidbit of information we have received regarding player actions off the field in some time. Marcus Sales, the formerly suspended wide receiver, has also been reinstated for this season. 

The Syracuse Orange football team is going to face a lot of questions this season, ranging from coaching changes to on-field personnel. Unfortunately for the Orange, the schedule they will play while answering these questions is one of the most difficult in recent team history. 

We knew that the Orange were going to have a rough time when Missouri was added to finish off the out-of-conference schedule. 

When the Big East schedule for the Orange was released today by the university and conference, things only got worse for Doug Marrone's team.  

The Orange will start the season with three home games against Northwestern, USC and Stony Brook, but the USC game will be the "New York College Classic" in MetLife Stadium on one of the ABC family of networks. Then Syracuse will finish off its opening non-conference stretch on the road against Minnesota.

The Orange then get to play Pittsburgh on an ESPN Friday night game before heading off to Rutgers, and they get another home Friday night ESPN game against Connecticut before going on the road twice against USF and Cincinnati. 

The Orange then come back home for their 2012 home finale against Louisville before finishing off the season at Missouri and Temple. The Temple game will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2. 

So in synopsis: the Orange do not play any back-to-back true home games, they finish the season with four of five games on the road and they're on national television four times this year. Aside from the television appearances, this is one of the worst schedules Syracuse could draw. 

Let the conspiracy theories begin, but in what will more than likely be the final Big East season for the Orange, Doug Marrone may have his toughest challenge yet.  

Antwon Bailey is a small spark-plug playing running back for Syracuse University.  At the Syracuse pro day in early March, he measured in at just under 5’7” and 197 pounds and ran a 4.54 second 40-yard dash.  Bailey rushed for over 1,000 yards as a senior for Syracuse and was All-Big East First Team as a senior.

I asked him what that honor meant to him.  He told me “that it means a lot” and that it was “just a combination of all of the hard work that I have put in and the people around me have put in.”  He said “I think that means a lot, not only to myself, but also to the offensive line at Syracuse.  It's a big honor for me.”

Bailey is a versatile football player, and he can do a lot of different things on the football field.  I asked about his versatility.  He told me that versatility is part of who he is.  He told me that he followed up two really good running backs at Syracuse in Curtis Brinkley and Delone Carter.  He told me that he had to wait his turn before he could become the feature back.

When talking about his versatility he mentioned that he knew he had to be able to do different things than the other guys if he wanted to get on the field. “So I had to be able to block.  I had to be able to catch the ball. I had to be able to run routes, whether that was out if the backfield or at receiver.  So, that was a big part of me learning how to be versatile.”

I asked what moment stood out to him as a college athlete.  “My favorite moment as a college player had to be helping to rebuild the Syracuse program.  You know it's a very historic program and then when we won that Pinstripes Bowl championship.  You know, that, that meant the world to me.”  He said that it was great to share that with his teammates and that getting to play the first Bowl game in Yankee Stadium were great memories.

We talked about the history of the running backs to come out of Syracuse, from Jim Brown to Ernie Davis to the present.  He said the tradition was “something that you have to carry with you, being a Syracuse running back.”  He said that it was taught to the running back group, something that was preached to them and that it is always in the back of his mind.

When we talked about the NFL and what he thought he could offer to an NFL team, he told me “I'm a natural leader, but I think that something that comes with being a leader you have to be a good follower as a leader.”  He is going to “be a great teammate and a good guy in the locker room.  I am willing to play no matter where it is but also I know how to learn.”  He feels like he can help on third down and in blocking and says he has really exceptional hands.

He told me that he gets the comparison to Ray Rice, mainly because of the size comparable but also because of his versatility and way he gets utilized in the passing game.

I asked him what he would tell the fans of the team that drafts him.  He told me he was going to be very thankful for the opportunity and that he was “going to give everything he had” and that he was “going to give 100%, whether that’s on offense or special teams, you are going to get 100 percent of Antwon Bailey.”

Bailey is short in stature but hails from a school steeped in tradition for running backs.  He knows he is part of the history now and wants to make his mark in the NFL, like so many Syracuse running backs before him.

Scott Bischoff is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials.

News finally came down from the Big East that, as speculated, Temple will join the Big East and fill the spot left by West Virginia in every conference team's schedule. 

This is great news for the Orange, who now have officially completed their schedule. The Orange's schedule is anything but easy, but at least they have one. Winning six games and bowl eligibility will be more difficult than last year, but still plausible. 

The better news for the Orange? Mike Murphy of CBS, who has yet to be proven wrong in this conference realignment saga, reports that the Big East is now "open" to the idea of Syracuse and Pittsburgh both leaving the conference after this season. 

Both sides would than likely have to come to some agreement on a buy out clause as well as basketball season details, but I would place my money on all major sports programs being a part of the ACC in 2014. 

Additionally, today will feature Syracuse players getting one last chance to impress scouts at Manley Field House. The Orange lineup will include the following, per official university media release: 

Antwon Bailey, Van Chew, Jose Cruz, Olando Fisher, Dorian Graham, Michael Hay, Chandler Jones, Tombe Kose, Rob Long, Nick Provo, Kevyn Scott, Phillip Thomas, Andrew Tiller and Aaron Weaver. 

The Syracuse Orange desperately need to obtain bowl eligibility in order to maintain some semblance of program optimism. That starts with winning six games. Orange fans are thanking the football gods that the number has not been moved up to seven this season. 

The Orange finished their non-conference schedule yesterday by adding a November 17th road game against the Missouri Tigers, according to SU Athletics. The rest of Syracuse's non-conference schedule includes Northwestern (September 1), USC (NYC September 8), Stony Brook (September 15) and Minnesota (September 22). 

For those at home counting, that's two B1G, a Pac-12 favorite, and SEC. The only other team with that kind of schedule is Notre Dame. 

It could have been worse, though.

The Orange were left in a difficult position due to West Virginia's exit from the Big East and uncertainty from Boise State joining for the 2012. As the Columbia Tribune reports, the Orange were also looking at scheduling Arkansas, Florida State, Boise State and Nevada.

Another interesting mentioned in an SB Nation post is that the Orange's "completed" schedule has a Big East road game that is marked TBA. With recent rumors swirling around Temple, this could be the tip that the Owls are joining the Big East in 2012. 

For more Syracuse news, follow @ACPregler on Twitter. 

Syracuse Orange football has kept a low profile in recent weeks, but it is always fun to see where players from the program go after football. For the Orange, several notable players were slated to participate in the combine, however the results were less than fantastic. 

First, onto the No. 1 Syracuse Orange prospect, Chandler Jones.

Jones left the Orange early to head to the NFL, amid rumors that he could be a first-round draft pick. These rumors have probably stopped after his combine showing. 

Jones ran a 4.87 40-yard dash and posted top numbers in the vertical jump (35") and the broad jump (120"). His time in the three-cone drill was respectable (7.07) and the 20-yard shuttle was average (4.38). SB Nation gave Jones a B-minus grade, tops among all Orange. 

Suspended safety-now-NFL-prospect Phillip Thomas definitely failed to live up to expectations at the combine, the foremost issue coming with his 40-yard dash.

Thomas slipped off the blocks in his first run and followed up up with a 4.74 40-time, fourth-worst among all defensive backs. Thomas is going to need a great pro day to raise his stock. 

Offensive lineman Andrew Tiller had the worst day by far, posting some of the lowest numbers at the offensive line slot.

His 40-time was too slow (5.50), he had the second-lowest bench press reps (16) and was dead-last in the broad jump. Tiller's three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle were much better, but not enough to save his day. 

Finally, record-setting tight end Nick Provo was not able to participate due to his ongoing shoulder recovery. His pro day will heavily influence where he is taken in the draft. 

Now, where will these players go?

According to NFL Lead Writer Matt Miller's most recent mock, Jones will go 38th overall to Jacksonville, with all of the others going undrafted. For all of these players, the March 8th pro day will be extremely important after this combine flop. 

For anyone who believes in karma, conference realignment has finally gotten the better of the Syracuse Orange. News came down today that West Virginia will be off to the Big 12 by June with Syracuse and Pitt left in the Big East for now. 

As I wrote last week, the departure of West Virginia opens the door for a Syracuse-Pitt departure as well. As of now, Big East commissioner John Marinatto "might be open to discussion" on the matter, but not until 2013. Unless Pitt and Syracuse are able to find $20 million or more under the mattress, it looks as if the ACC move is still put on hold. 

This news is good, seeing that now the discussion will open about an ACC move rather than Marinatto's former zero-negotiation stance he held since the move was announced. 

This move does leave Syracuse with a slight problem: The Orange now have two slots they must fill on the schedule. TCU and West Virginia were both on the 2012 conference schedule and their departure now means that every Big East team is facing this predicament. 

Matt's College Sports Media Blog did the legwork and determined all NCAA teams in need of a spot (the link has the full list). For the Orange, bowl eligibility must be a driving factor in scheduling. There is already one FCS opponent on the schedule (Stony Brook) and the other already scheduled games are Minnesota, Northwestern and USC.

The Orange could play Rutgers twice as previously reported, leaving just one open spot on the schedule. With all Big East teams scrambling for another opponent, the Orange need to work fast to grab someone from the list, preferable a winnable game such as UAB or North Texas. 

However, we will have to wait and see what unfolds as the Big East prepares for a season without West Virginia.