Photo by: Akshay Ram
Spring Practice Notebook: Week 4
4/7/2019 10:07:00 AM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – With spring practice winding down, members of the Orange football team have only a few chances left to demonstrate their mastery of the offense and defense to the coaching staff. One of those opportunities was yesterday, as Syracuse held a 103-play scrimmage at the Ensley Athletic Center to cap the team's fourth week of practice.
A recap of the scrimmage is below, along with more highlights from Week 4 of spring drills:
JORDAN, ROBINSON LEAD RESPECTIVE UNITS IN SECOND SCRIMMAGE
Freshman running back Jawhar Jordan and rising senior defensive end Alton Robinson the headliners in yesterday's scrimmage. Jordan ran for three touchdowns, including a 45-yard score on the opening series. Robinson paced the defense with three sacks.
Full story:Â Cuse.com/Scrimmage2Recap
Photos: Cuse.com/Scrimmage2PhotoGallery
NEW ADDITION
The Orange football family grew by one last week with the addition of walk-on kicker Noah Nwosu. A redshirt freshman, Nwosu attended the Bullis School in Maryland where he also starred for the Bulldogs soccer team. In 2015, Nwosu booted four field goals and scored 13 points in a 19-16 victory over Georgetown Prep to help the Bulldogs claim a share of the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) title.Â
LINEBACKER COMPETITION HEATS UP
For the second year in a row, Syracuse is working to replace all of its starting linebackers. While seemingly a daunting challenge, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Brian Ward has several pieces to work with following the departure Ryan Guthrie and Kielan Whitner.
Rising senior Andrew Armstrong has the most game experience and is listed at the starter on the weak side. Armstrong has appeared in every contest since he arrived on campus in 2016 and has 74 tackles. Classmate Lakiem Williams was charted as the first-string middle linebacker heading into spring practice.
Rising junior Tyrell Richards is pushing hard for playing time. An excellent athlete, Richards was listed behind Armstrong on the spring depth chart after logging 16 tackles and five sacks as a pass-rushing specialist in 2018.
"Learning from (Armstrong) is making my job a lot easier just because everything that I don't quite understand, he's right there to be like, 'This is what you've got to do,'" Richards told Syracuse.com. "He kind of simplifies it for me."
While those three are the most well-known candidates, rising sophomore Juan Wallace and redshirt freshman Tre Allison have been working quietly behind the scenes. Wallace, who is listed behind Williams in the middle, received his first taste of college football on special teams last season. Allison did not appear in any games in 2018, but is 6-foot-2 and a stout 233 pounds.
Early enrollees Mikel Jones and Lee Kpogba have also flashed as playmakers since arriving in January. Kpogba, who was voted the 2018 Defensive Player of the Year in North Carolina by USA Today, made a diving interception on a deflected pass in yesterday's scrimmage. Jones burst through the line twice yesterday to bring down ball carriers in the backfield.
It all makes for a healthy competition for playing time, one that will likely extend into fall camp.
ANTICIPATION FOR 2019 SEASON BUILDING
Last Monday, Syracuse Athletics announced that it had sold more than 4,000 new season football tickets, one of the highest one-year sales increases on record for the department. Season tickets for the lower level of the Carrier Dome are expected to sell out. The best way to guarantee a first-level set for the highly-anticipated home opener versus Clemson is through the purchase of a season ticket, which are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX)Â and in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B).
Individual game tickets for Syracuse's six 2019 home dates go on sale Tuesday, April 16.
Schedule | Pricing Guide
LESS THAN A WEEK UNTIL 'SPRING FOOTBALL SATURDAY'
The Orange are set to close spring drills on April 13 at the Carrier Dome with an open scrimmage during "Spring Football Saturday" presented by AmeriCU. Gates open at 12:30 p.m. with the scrimmage scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. The football extravaganza also features a reunion of the 1966 Syracuse backfield comprised of Floyd Little, Larry Csonka and Tom Coughlin, a youth clinic, team autograph session, and more!
Full schedule: Cuse.com/SpringSaturday
For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).
A recap of the scrimmage is below, along with more highlights from Week 4 of spring drills:
JORDAN, ROBINSON LEAD RESPECTIVE UNITS IN SECOND SCRIMMAGE
Freshman running back Jawhar Jordan and rising senior defensive end Alton Robinson the headliners in yesterday's scrimmage. Jordan ran for three touchdowns, including a 45-yard score on the opening series. Robinson paced the defense with three sacks.
Full story:Â Cuse.com/Scrimmage2Recap
Photos: Cuse.com/Scrimmage2PhotoGallery
NEW ADDITION
The Orange football family grew by one last week with the addition of walk-on kicker Noah Nwosu. A redshirt freshman, Nwosu attended the Bullis School in Maryland where he also starred for the Bulldogs soccer team. In 2015, Nwosu booted four field goals and scored 13 points in a 19-16 victory over Georgetown Prep to help the Bulldogs claim a share of the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) title.Â
LINEBACKER COMPETITION HEATS UP
For the second year in a row, Syracuse is working to replace all of its starting linebackers. While seemingly a daunting challenge, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Brian Ward has several pieces to work with following the departure Ryan Guthrie and Kielan Whitner.
Rising senior Andrew Armstrong has the most game experience and is listed at the starter on the weak side. Armstrong has appeared in every contest since he arrived on campus in 2016 and has 74 tackles. Classmate Lakiem Williams was charted as the first-string middle linebacker heading into spring practice.
Rising junior Tyrell Richards is pushing hard for playing time. An excellent athlete, Richards was listed behind Armstrong on the spring depth chart after logging 16 tackles and five sacks as a pass-rushing specialist in 2018.
"Learning from (Armstrong) is making my job a lot easier just because everything that I don't quite understand, he's right there to be like, 'This is what you've got to do,'" Richards told Syracuse.com. "He kind of simplifies it for me."
While those three are the most well-known candidates, rising sophomore Juan Wallace and redshirt freshman Tre Allison have been working quietly behind the scenes. Wallace, who is listed behind Williams in the middle, received his first taste of college football on special teams last season. Allison did not appear in any games in 2018, but is 6-foot-2 and a stout 233 pounds.
Early enrollees Mikel Jones and Lee Kpogba have also flashed as playmakers since arriving in January. Kpogba, who was voted the 2018 Defensive Player of the Year in North Carolina by USA Today, made a diving interception on a deflected pass in yesterday's scrimmage. Jones burst through the line twice yesterday to bring down ball carriers in the backfield.
It all makes for a healthy competition for playing time, one that will likely extend into fall camp.
ANTICIPATION FOR 2019 SEASON BUILDING
Last Monday, Syracuse Athletics announced that it had sold more than 4,000 new season football tickets, one of the highest one-year sales increases on record for the department. Season tickets for the lower level of the Carrier Dome are expected to sell out. The best way to guarantee a first-level set for the highly-anticipated home opener versus Clemson is through the purchase of a season ticket, which are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX)Â and in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B).
Individual game tickets for Syracuse's six 2019 home dates go on sale Tuesday, April 16.
Schedule | Pricing Guide
LESS THAN A WEEK UNTIL 'SPRING FOOTBALL SATURDAY'
The Orange are set to close spring drills on April 13 at the Carrier Dome with an open scrimmage during "Spring Football Saturday" presented by AmeriCU. Gates open at 12:30 p.m. with the scrimmage scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. The football extravaganza also features a reunion of the 1966 Syracuse backfield comprised of Floyd Little, Larry Csonka and Tom Coughlin, a youth clinic, team autograph session, and more!
Full schedule: Cuse.com/SpringSaturday
For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).
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