Head coach Doug Marrone released the depth chart vs. Northwestern this afternoon.
SU Prepares; Marrone Releases Depth Chart
8/25/2012 4:09:00 PM | Football
Game Notes | 2012 Depth Chart vs. Northwestern
As the beginning of the 2012 season approaches, Syracuse football head coach Doug Marrone has released his depth chart for the season opener against Northwestern. The offense sees the return of five starters from the2011 season, while the defense returns seven. The Orange continue its preparations this week to take on Northwestern on Sept. 1 at the Carrier Dome at noon (ESPN2).
"We're just getting ready," Marrone said. "We're still in preparations for our first game. We released our two-deep. Northwestern has released their two-deep. I can't speak for them, but we've started our preparation to get ready to play a game next week. I'm really excited also. I have butterflies too. I think we all do. It's just a matter of controlling that and focusing that energy to the task at hand. That's what we keep talking to the players about."
Offense
On offense, four of the five starters from 2011 are slated to start with the exception of Justin Pugh. Pugh is listed second on the depth chart at left tackle due to injury. Senior wide receiver Alec Lemon, senior left guard Zack Chibane, junior center Macky MacPherson and senior quarterback Ryan Nassib are the veterans on offense. Chibane and MacPherson are in their second year besides each other on the offensive line. Both Chibane and Nassib are now each in their third year as starters. Nassib enters into the 2012 season following an impressive 2011 season where he threw 259 passes for 2,685 yards.
Junior left tackle Sean Hickey has proven throughout preseason camp to be a viable replacement for Pugh on the offensive line. There are also many new faces on the right side of the offensive line. At right guard, both sophomores Ivan Foy and Rob Trudo are still battling for the starting spot while senior Lou Alexander is in his first year of starting at right tackle.
At wide receiver, Lemon leads the group after breaking the SU single-season receptions record with 68 in 2011. Both sophomore Jeremiah Kobena and junior Christopher Clark will compete for playing time behind Lemon. Senior Marcus Sales returns to the wide receiver position after sitting out last season. Junior Jarrod West is also in the rotation behind Sales.
Junior Beckett Wales will look to build off of his experience from last season as the starting tight end this year. At running back, juniors Jerome Smith and Prince-Tyson Gulley look to keep the tradition of rushing for over 1,000 yards in a season and fill the role that was left by Antwon Bailey. The full back position has junior Clay Cleveland at the starting spot with senior Carl Cutler listed behind him. Cutler returns after missing two seasons due to injury.
Defense
The defensive corps return eight who were starters in 2011, with six of them heading into 2012 in starting spots. Junior nose tackle Jay Bromley, senior defensive tackle Deon Goggins, linebackers junior Marquis Spruill and sophomore Dyshawn Davis, strong safety Shamarko Thomas and senior cornerback Ri'Shard Anderson are back in their starting positions. Senior linebacker Dan Vaughan and junior cornerback Keon Lyn started last year and are listed second on the depth chart in their respective positions.
Bromley returns after registering 32 tackles last season, including 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Alongside of him is Goggins, who after transferring from junior college prior to 2010, registered 43 tackles (19 solo) in his first season in Orange last year. The linebackers, Spruill and Davis, each had standout performances in 2011. Spruill was a force, notching 3 sacks and 62 tackles with 8.5 for loss last season. Davis earned the 2011 ECAC Defensive Rookie of the Year Award for his 43-tackle performance.
Thomas is a veteran in the Syracuse secondary and is back to make his mark in his final season in Orange. He currently sits in the 14th spot on the SU career tackles by a defensive back record list with 175 tackles and despite missing two games last season, he finished third on the team with 67 tackles. Anderson, who started six games last season at cornerback, tallied 22 tackles last year and had two fumble recoveries.
Junior Jeremi Wilkes is listed as the starting free safety and he will look to fill the spot of former free safety Phillip Thomas, who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles. Sophomore Brandon Reddish takes the place of the graduated Kevin Scott at cornerback.
After transferring from junior college, junior Markus Pierce-Brewster will start his career in Orange as the starting defensive end. After notching 24 tackles last season, senior Siriki Diabete has earned the starting position at middle linebacker. Senior defensive end Brandon Sharpe is in his first year as a starter, but saw action in every game his sophomore and junior seasons. Last season Sharpe tallied 19 tackles.
Special Teams
Freshman kicker Ryan Norton joins a group of experienced student-athletes on special teams this season. Norton is the newest member of the special teams unit and will help handle kickoffs. He joins the talented group of junior Ross Krautman, sophomore Jonathon Fischer, sophomore Jeremiah Kobena, junior Steven Rene, sophomore Sam Rodgers, senior Eric Morris and sophomore Riley Dixon.
Krautman will continue to be Syracuse's field goal and PAT kicker after his continued success in 2011. Krautman was an All-American in 2010 and currently sits at eighth on the SU career record list for field goals made (33). He was also tied for 32nd in the nation in field goals made per game in 2011 at 1.25. Fischer will resume punting duties after he took over midway through last season. Fischer was one of 14 freshmen to handle the starting punting duties for an FBS team last season and averaged 39.3 yards per kick. Rodgers returns as the long snapper, while Morris returns to his position as the short snapper.
Rene and Kobena will be backed up by Prince-Tyson Gulley and Ritchy Desir in returning kicks this season. In 2011, Kobena gained 1,027 kickoff return yards, which is good for second on SU's single-season record list and eighth on the career list.
Season and individual game tickets are available online, in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B), or by calling 1-888-DOMETIX for SU's first game against Northwestern. More information on how to get $10 tickets to the Northwestern game through the New York State Fair deal can be found here.
Syracuse hosts USC in New York's College Classic at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 8th. For more information on tickets, travel packages and tailgating tickets, visit www.nycollegeclassic.com.
As the beginning of the 2012 season approaches, Syracuse football head coach Doug Marrone has released his depth chart for the season opener against Northwestern. The offense sees the return of five starters from the2011 season, while the defense returns seven. The Orange continue its preparations this week to take on Northwestern on Sept. 1 at the Carrier Dome at noon (ESPN2).
"We're just getting ready," Marrone said. "We're still in preparations for our first game. We released our two-deep. Northwestern has released their two-deep. I can't speak for them, but we've started our preparation to get ready to play a game next week. I'm really excited also. I have butterflies too. I think we all do. It's just a matter of controlling that and focusing that energy to the task at hand. That's what we keep talking to the players about."
Offense
On offense, four of the five starters from 2011 are slated to start with the exception of Justin Pugh. Pugh is listed second on the depth chart at left tackle due to injury. Senior wide receiver Alec Lemon, senior left guard Zack Chibane, junior center Macky MacPherson and senior quarterback Ryan Nassib are the veterans on offense. Chibane and MacPherson are in their second year besides each other on the offensive line. Both Chibane and Nassib are now each in their third year as starters. Nassib enters into the 2012 season following an impressive 2011 season where he threw 259 passes for 2,685 yards.
Junior left tackle Sean Hickey has proven throughout preseason camp to be a viable replacement for Pugh on the offensive line. There are also many new faces on the right side of the offensive line. At right guard, both sophomores Ivan Foy and Rob Trudo are still battling for the starting spot while senior Lou Alexander is in his first year of starting at right tackle.
At wide receiver, Lemon leads the group after breaking the SU single-season receptions record with 68 in 2011. Both sophomore Jeremiah Kobena and junior Christopher Clark will compete for playing time behind Lemon. Senior Marcus Sales returns to the wide receiver position after sitting out last season. Junior Jarrod West is also in the rotation behind Sales.
Junior Beckett Wales will look to build off of his experience from last season as the starting tight end this year. At running back, juniors Jerome Smith and Prince-Tyson Gulley look to keep the tradition of rushing for over 1,000 yards in a season and fill the role that was left by Antwon Bailey. The full back position has junior Clay Cleveland at the starting spot with senior Carl Cutler listed behind him. Cutler returns after missing two seasons due to injury.
Defense
The defensive corps return eight who were starters in 2011, with six of them heading into 2012 in starting spots. Junior nose tackle Jay Bromley, senior defensive tackle Deon Goggins, linebackers junior Marquis Spruill and sophomore Dyshawn Davis, strong safety Shamarko Thomas and senior cornerback Ri'Shard Anderson are back in their starting positions. Senior linebacker Dan Vaughan and junior cornerback Keon Lyn started last year and are listed second on the depth chart in their respective positions.
Bromley returns after registering 32 tackles last season, including 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Alongside of him is Goggins, who after transferring from junior college prior to 2010, registered 43 tackles (19 solo) in his first season in Orange last year. The linebackers, Spruill and Davis, each had standout performances in 2011. Spruill was a force, notching 3 sacks and 62 tackles with 8.5 for loss last season. Davis earned the 2011 ECAC Defensive Rookie of the Year Award for his 43-tackle performance.
Thomas is a veteran in the Syracuse secondary and is back to make his mark in his final season in Orange. He currently sits in the 14th spot on the SU career tackles by a defensive back record list with 175 tackles and despite missing two games last season, he finished third on the team with 67 tackles. Anderson, who started six games last season at cornerback, tallied 22 tackles last year and had two fumble recoveries.
Junior Jeremi Wilkes is listed as the starting free safety and he will look to fill the spot of former free safety Phillip Thomas, who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles. Sophomore Brandon Reddish takes the place of the graduated Kevin Scott at cornerback.
After transferring from junior college, junior Markus Pierce-Brewster will start his career in Orange as the starting defensive end. After notching 24 tackles last season, senior Siriki Diabete has earned the starting position at middle linebacker. Senior defensive end Brandon Sharpe is in his first year as a starter, but saw action in every game his sophomore and junior seasons. Last season Sharpe tallied 19 tackles.
Special Teams
Freshman kicker Ryan Norton joins a group of experienced student-athletes on special teams this season. Norton is the newest member of the special teams unit and will help handle kickoffs. He joins the talented group of junior Ross Krautman, sophomore Jonathon Fischer, sophomore Jeremiah Kobena, junior Steven Rene, sophomore Sam Rodgers, senior Eric Morris and sophomore Riley Dixon.
Krautman will continue to be Syracuse's field goal and PAT kicker after his continued success in 2011. Krautman was an All-American in 2010 and currently sits at eighth on the SU career record list for field goals made (33). He was also tied for 32nd in the nation in field goals made per game in 2011 at 1.25. Fischer will resume punting duties after he took over midway through last season. Fischer was one of 14 freshmen to handle the starting punting duties for an FBS team last season and averaged 39.3 yards per kick. Rodgers returns as the long snapper, while Morris returns to his position as the short snapper.
Rene and Kobena will be backed up by Prince-Tyson Gulley and Ritchy Desir in returning kicks this season. In 2011, Kobena gained 1,027 kickoff return yards, which is good for second on SU's single-season record list and eighth on the career list.
Season and individual game tickets are available online, in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B), or by calling 1-888-DOMETIX for SU's first game against Northwestern. More information on how to get $10 tickets to the Northwestern game through the New York State Fair deal can be found here.
Syracuse hosts USC in New York's College Classic at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 8th. For more information on tickets, travel packages and tailgating tickets, visit www.nycollegeclassic.com.
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