Orange Put On Full Pads

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – It sounded a lot more like football today at the Schwartzwalder and Katz Practice Fields, as the Orange put on full pads for the first time during preseason camp.

With the NCAA's mandatory four-day acclimation period finished, Syracuse's fifth camp practice featured mostly "thud" sessions (no tackling to the ground) and live reps at the end of the final team period.

"Today was a little sluggish," head coach Dino Babers said after practice. "The guys were carrying their weight and the humidity is up a little bit, but they still went hard. We'll get better."

The 2019 campaign will be Babers' fourth season at the helm of the Orange. This is the first time since he was an assistant coach at Baylor from 2008 to 2011 that he's been with a team this long. Babers said the familiarity he has with the current crop of players is paying dividends.

"They know me and I know them. The main thing is we're coaching up the young guys, that's what we're really doing out here," Babers said. "This is like when you first get married in the beginning, then you start to get into the later years of a marriage and you start to pick and choose your battles. So, it's a little bit different, but we're moving along at a good pace. We just need to keep working."

Syracuse began the day with some goal line work that saw sophomore Jarveon Howard burst through the line for a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore running back Markenzy Pierre added a short-yardage score as well, while junior tight end Aaron Hackett earned some applause with a nice catch in traffic.

Babers said a host of players are working at multiple positions and cautioned observers not to pay too much attention to preseason depth charts.

"A depth chart is just where you line up so that we can have some organization when they [the players] come out to practice," Babers said. "You need to compete. Guys move up all the time. Kendall Coleman wasn't on a depth chart [when he first got here] and he's been there for about three years now. Andre Cisco wasn't on a depth chart either. The depth chart is so we can call for guys to run out and we can evaluate them and then make sure we got the right guys in there. Just because you start one year doesn't mean you start the next. There's no guarantees like that."

Fall camp continues tomorrow with another morning practice. Syracuse will practice every day this week and hold their first closed scrimmage on Saturday.

This year's Orange squad returns 17 starters from last year's team that went 10-3 and defeated West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl. Syracuse is ranked No. 22 in this year's preseason Amway Coaches Poll and kicks off the 2019 campaign at Liberty on Saturday, Aug. 31. The Orange's first home game is Saturday, Sept. 14 versus Clemson.

Season and single-game tickets for Syracuse football are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) or in person at the Dome Box Office located in the Ensley Athletic Center. Season tickets start at $125.

Syracuse's single-game ticket allotment for the Clemson game is sold out. The only way to guarantee a seat to watch the Orange and Tigers is through the purchase of a season ticket.

Notes: Former Orange offensive tackle Koda Martin attended today's practice ... Martin started every game at right tackle last season and signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in April as a free agent ... The Chargers placed Martin on injured reserve last month ... Hackett and quarterback Tommy DeVito both turned 21 today and the team sang "Happy Birthday" to them at the end of practice.

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Syracuse University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Andre Cisco

Kendall Coleman

Tommy DeVito

Aaron Hackett

Jarveon Howard

Koda Martin

Markenzy Pierre

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