Orange Begin 2018 Spring Drills

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange football team kicked off Year 3 of the Dino Babers era with its first spring practice session of 2018 Sunday morning at the Ensley Athletic Center.

Players wore helmets, jerseys and shorts for the two-hour workout, which featured a series of individual, 7-on-7, and team periods. It also included some light special teams work.

Now entering his 35th season as a college coach, Babers has gone through his share of spring drills. However, he said he stills feels the excitement that comes with being on the field teaching.

"I had been feeling a little sick this week. Wasn't moving as well, but for some reason today around 3:30 in the morning I got fired up," Babers said. "It's good to be back on the football field. I think everybody's got that attitude right now."

Quarterback Eric Dungey certainly is of that mindset after missing the final three games of last season with a foot injury. The only active FBS quarterback with 6,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards, Dungey said it's the little things that still get his competitive juices flowing.

"We're excited. It's the first day of practice," Dungey said. "We're out of the weight room. We have helmets on. There's structured drills. It's great."

Ironically, one of Dungey's primary targets Sunday morning – redshirt senior Antwan Cordy – is also coming back from injury. He's also playing offense for the first time in college after spending four years as a defensive back.

Cordy, who's missed 21 of Syracuse's last 24 games with forearm and lower-leg injuries, made the switch from safety to receiver in the offseason. While Babers did not rule out Cordy playing both ways, he hopes the shift to offense leads to Cordy being available for meaningful games at the end of the year.

"He's explosive. He's quick. The last two years on defense he hasn't been able to finish the season," Babers said. "So we're trying to maybe move a position and see if we can keep him healthy, so we can have him in October and November."

Defensively, the Orange are tasked with replacing their top four linebackers, including starters Parris Bennett, Zaire Franklin and Jonathan Thomas. Franklin and Bennett were All-ACC performers, and together with Thomas and Austin Valdez, formed a quartet responsible for more than 950 career tackles.

While those players may be gone, senior Kielan Whitner believes the unit is ready to build upon the foundation they laid.

"Those guys were big parts of this defense. But we have plenty of guys with great talent who can step up and fill those roles," Whitner said. "They did a great job leading us and heading us in the right direction. We just have to pick up where they left off."

Syracuse continues spring practice Tuesday with another morning workout inside Ensley. The session will be the team's last in shorts. Full pads come on Thursday.

Season tickets for Syracuse football are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B). Tickets for Syracuse's six home games start at $125.

Individual game tickets and prices will be announced at a later date. An exclusive pre-sale for Orange Club members to purchase single-game tickets is expected to launch in late April.

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Syracuse University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Parris Bennett

Antwan Cordy

Eric Dungey

Zaire Franklin

Jonathan Thomas

Austin Valdez

Kielan Whitner

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