Photo by: Charles Wainwright
Exciting Offseason Continues for 'Cuse Football
1/4/2022 10:00:00 AM | Football
The first month of the Syracuse football offseason has brought exciting change to the program with three new assistant coaches joining the staff, plus cornerstones of the 2021 team announcing they're returning.
A busy offseason continued on Monday, when head coach Dino Babers formally said in a local radio interview the official position groupings of the SU defensive staff. The Orange – who still have one assistant coach to hire before hitting the NCAA's cap on the number of on-field coaches allowed – will do so on the offensive side of the ball, targeting a wide receivers coach.
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Chris Achuff will coach the defensive line – a position he's extremely familiar with after having spent the previous 16 seasons of his coaching career, including a nine year stint at Baylor and two years with the Arizona Cardinals, as a defensive line coach before arriving at SU in 2020.
Defensive Coordinator Tony White will take over linebackers. The Orange's young linebacking corps are a strength of the defense, and that got a boost two weeks ago when team captain Mikel Jones announced his return. Jones was a first team All-ACC selection who had previously announced he would weigh his options as an NFL Draft eligible player.
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Fellow All-ACC defensive back Garrett Williams and 2018 Lou Groza Award Winner Andre Szmyt made the same declarations to return in recent weeks as well, providing the Orange with 17-of-22 starters (20-of-25 including specialists) from the 2021 squad back in action for next season.
Williams will give cornerbacks coach Chip West a formidable duo paired with Freshman All-American Duce Chestnut next season, as West returns for his third season coaching corners with the program. Nick Monroe will also enter his seventh season at SU coaching safeties and rovers.
Two big additions to the coaching staff were announced last week, with Babers tapping Virginia offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck to the Orange.
"Robert and I have both been in the business a long time and technically we've never worked together, he knows everyone that I know and I know everyone that he knows, and we barely missed each other at the University of Hawaii as graduate assistants under the late Dick Tomey," Babers said in a recent interview on ESPN Radio Syracuse. "He's got an unbelievable resume and Jason Beck is exactly the same, he's got a fantastic record with quarterbacks. Those two additions should help us in the throw game with what we were able to accomplish in the run game this year with Mike Schmidt and the always steady Mike Lynch on the offensive staff."
The Virginia tandem, which led the nation's No. 2 offense this season in the Cavaliers, marks two thirds of the new position coaches hired as Bob Ligashesky was added as the team's new special teams coordinator in December, bringing a resume with decades of experience, including a Super Bowl title, to the Orange.
The month of December also featured National Signing Day, where the Orange added 13 new players to their roster for the 2022 season. Info on the Orange's newest additions can be found at Cuse.com/signingday. In the era of immediate eligibility for transfers, Babers also said he and his staff were hitting the portal hard in search of impact players.
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As the Orange continue to set their sights on the 2022 season, ticket deposits are being taken for fans looking to secure their seats for the upcoming year. The Orange home schedule features seven games in the Loud House, including four strong ACC opponents, plus Notre Dame and Purdue. Secure your seats now at Cuse.com/tickets.
A busy offseason continued on Monday, when head coach Dino Babers formally said in a local radio interview the official position groupings of the SU defensive staff. The Orange – who still have one assistant coach to hire before hitting the NCAA's cap on the number of on-field coaches allowed – will do so on the offensive side of the ball, targeting a wide receivers coach.
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"Those two additions in the throw game should help us"
— Cuse Sports Talk (@CuseSportsTalk_) January 3, 2022
Dino Babers on the hiring of new OC Robert Anae and QB Coach Jason Beck pic.twitter.com/sHXPDWgDYp
Chris Achuff will coach the defensive line – a position he's extremely familiar with after having spent the previous 16 seasons of his coaching career, including a nine year stint at Baylor and two years with the Arizona Cardinals, as a defensive line coach before arriving at SU in 2020.
Defensive Coordinator Tony White will take over linebackers. The Orange's young linebacking corps are a strength of the defense, and that got a boost two weeks ago when team captain Mikel Jones announced his return. Jones was a first team All-ACC selection who had previously announced he would weigh his options as an NFL Draft eligible player.
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Let's run it back 🧡 pic.twitter.com/vqCuPFsbk1
— Mikel Jones (@KelxJones) December 16, 2021
Fellow All-ACC defensive back Garrett Williams and 2018 Lou Groza Award Winner Andre Szmyt made the same declarations to return in recent weeks as well, providing the Orange with 17-of-22 starters (20-of-25 including specialists) from the 2021 squad back in action for next season.
Williams will give cornerbacks coach Chip West a formidable duo paired with Freshman All-American Duce Chestnut next season, as West returns for his third season coaching corners with the program. Nick Monroe will also enter his seventh season at SU coaching safeties and rovers.
Two big additions to the coaching staff were announced last week, with Babers tapping Virginia offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck to the Orange.
"Robert and I have both been in the business a long time and technically we've never worked together, he knows everyone that I know and I know everyone that he knows, and we barely missed each other at the University of Hawaii as graduate assistants under the late Dick Tomey," Babers said in a recent interview on ESPN Radio Syracuse. "He's got an unbelievable resume and Jason Beck is exactly the same, he's got a fantastic record with quarterbacks. Those two additions should help us in the throw game with what we were able to accomplish in the run game this year with Mike Schmidt and the always steady Mike Lynch on the offensive staff."
The Virginia tandem, which led the nation's No. 2 offense this season in the Cavaliers, marks two thirds of the new position coaches hired as Bob Ligashesky was added as the team's new special teams coordinator in December, bringing a resume with decades of experience, including a Super Bowl title, to the Orange.
The month of December also featured National Signing Day, where the Orange added 13 new players to their roster for the 2022 season. Info on the Orange's newest additions can be found at Cuse.com/signingday. In the era of immediate eligibility for transfers, Babers also said he and his staff were hitting the portal hard in search of impact players.
Â
"We're hitting the portal hard"
— Cuse Sports Talk (@CuseSportsTalk_) January 3, 2022
Dino Babers on how the Orange coaching staff are treating the transfer portal this offseason pic.twitter.com/OzsCEuBBNm
As the Orange continue to set their sights on the 2022 season, ticket deposits are being taken for fans looking to secure their seats for the upcoming year. The Orange home schedule features seven games in the Loud House, including four strong ACC opponents, plus Notre Dame and Purdue. Secure your seats now at Cuse.com/tickets.
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