#CampCuse Position Preview: Offensive Line

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – There is no area on a football team that requires more cohesion, more coordinated movement, than on the offensive line. The 2018 Syracuse lineup should benefit from the collective experience of the unit.

First-year offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh inherited five returning players with at least a season's worth of starting experience. The Orange haven't had that type of veteran presence up front since 1989 when the team brought back all five starters from a 1988 squad that went 10-2 and finished No. 13 in the AP poll. Add in Texas A&M graduate transfer Koda Martin and Syracuse's boasts six players with at least a year's worth of starts in either the ACC or SEC.

Overall, the Orange roster features a combined 100 total starts at the five offensive line positions (Martin also has one start at tight end in his career). Four players who started all 12 games last fall are back. Senior Cody Conway (LT), redshirt sophomore Sam Heckel (LG), redshirt sophomore Airon Servais (C) and redshirt junior Evan Adams (RG) are familiar neighbors in the Orange trenches. Martin, who was with the first team at Texas A&M in 2017, is listed as the starter at right tackle on the preseason depth chart.

Servais believes the biggest advantage to having that many players who have seen quality field time is that they know what to expect when the lights come on.

"Every game isn't new anymore. It's not a new experience," Servais said. "Last year, every single opponent we had, for us new guys, was a new experience. Going away, playing at home against these different teams, that was first time, but now we've got that year. We know what to expect and how to react in those situations."

Conway played 1,030 snaps for the Orange in 2017 and earned preseason All-ACC plaudits from a handful of media outlets. Heckel tallied 41 knockdown blocks a year ago, including eight against Wake Forest. The staff expects redshirt senior Aaron Roberts, who started 12 games at left guard in 2016, to have a spirited competition with Heckel for first-string status. Roberts missed all of last season with a knee injury. Servais played every snap in 10 of Syracuse's 12 games and led the line in plays (1,036). Adams brings a streak of 21 straight starts into the season.

Redshirt junior Colin Byrne (eight starts in 2016 at center) is expected to push Adams at right guard. Redshirt senior Keaton Darney is charted as the primary backup to Servais at center. Heckel can also center the second unit if the coaches elect to keep Roberts with the first team. At the tackle positions, Syracuse has valuable reserves in redshirt sophomore Mike Clark (RT) and true sophomore Patrick Davis (LT). Versatile redshirt junior Andrejas Duerig can play both center and guard and was a valuable member of the Orange's punt team last season.

Redshirt sophomores Austin Chandler and Dakota Davis have completed their apprenticeships on the practice squad. Newcomers include Wil Froumy from Exeter High School (N.H.), Detroit Jesuit product Carlos Vettorello, and Qadir White from New York's Cardinal Hayes High School. White is the most highly-touted of the rookies. A four-star prospect, he was ranked 187th in 247Sports.com's Top247.

Syracuse kicks off the campaign Friday, Aug. 31 at Western Michigan. The Orange's first home game is Saturday, Sept. 8 versus Wagner.

Season and individual game tickets for Orange football are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) and in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B). Season tickets start at $125.

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Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Evan Adams

Colin Byrne

Austin Chandler

Mike Clark

Cody Conway

Keaton Darney

Dakota Davis

Patrick Davis

Andrejas Duerig

Wil Froumy

Sam Heckel

Koda Martin

Aaron Roberts

Airon Servais

Carlos Vettorello

Qadir White

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