Five Things to Watch For Syracuse Football Next Season

The Syracuse Orange Football team looks to build upon their 7-6 record overall (4-4 in the ACC) and will look to put last years bowl loss behind them. Syracuse football has five things to watch for.

While their goal is to win at least seven games again in the competitive ACC Conference, the Cuse will look to secure one of the two best conference records this year and compete in their first ever conference championship as a member of the ACC.

The ACC is using a 3-3-5 scheduling format with no divisions and the conference matchups being determined by the top two teams with the best records in the league. That means the dream may finally become a reality, as we could have our first ever Syracuse-Clemson ACC championship matchup.

Syracuse also has many reasons to look forward to 2023 and see that brighter days are ahead now and for the future of this program under returning head coach Dino Babers.

Here are Five Things to Watch for Syracuse Football Next Season

 

1. New Offensive Coordinator – Jason Beck

Don’t worry SU fans, last year’s offense with Robert Anae as offensive coordinator was fun, but it was one-dimensional. The plays were mostly catered to just handing the ball off to running back Sean Tucker or passing the ball out of a shotgun screen to the star running back.

For most of the year, the offense was quite basic. That was until the week prior to the 2022 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.

Tucker announced he would declare for the 2023 NFL draft in which later he would go undrafted and sign a six-figure deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Offensive coordinator Robert Anae then announced he would be heading over to ACC rival NC State as he was hired as their offensive coordinator in December 2022.

This slowly introduced us to our new and current man calling the plays, Jason Beck. Beck was already on the staff as the quarterbacks coach but took a back seat to Anae and watched him call the shots on offense.

What Beck noticed was the offense was way too dependent on Tucker, whether if it was on the ground or in the passing game.

After Tucker left, we were introduced to our current starting running back LeQuint Allen. Allen, who was a backup as a freshman showed flashes of promise but was buried in the depth chart behind Tucker all year.

What separates Allen from Tucker is that he’s more of a multipurpose back with game speed and a quick burst, but unlike Tucker, he can return kicks and punts.

During the Pinstripe Bowl, Beck wanted a more multiple-style offense to compliment the traditional Babers no-huddle offense.

This meant creating more trick plays into the offense; half-back passes, double reverse passes, or flee flickers: plays that can keep the defense honest while traditionally going fast to keep the defense on its toes.

Cuse lost the game 28-20. Despite the disappointing result, you could see some of those new-look wrinkles on display and I think if they run this type of offense game one next year, it could be dominant in the ACC.

 

2. New Defensive Coordinator – Rocky Long

Since 2019, Syracuse has built a nasty defense schemed around the 3-3-5 look. A 3-3-5 defense means a team lines up three defensive linemen and three linebackers, and they have five players in the secondary.

Now, here’s the twist with the second part. In traditional defenses like a 4-3 or a 3-4, defensive backs normally are placed on the receiver man-man and their job is to stay on the receiver and make sure he doesn’t end up with the ball in his hands.

In a 3-3-5, everybody, including the secondary, is put up on the line to rush the passer and when the quarterback hikes the ball, it’s a full bullrush to the quarterback.

It works very well when you want to pile up sacks, but it can go horribly wrong as your db’s typically aren’t in the backfield covering the opposing receivers leading to easy long yard TD plays.

Also, there usually is a big gap left in the middle of the lane for the running back to run through, so the d-line isn’t focusing on stopping the run.

When Tony White arrived at SU as the defensive coordinator, his job was to simplify the scheme to fit all 11 players on the defensive side of the ball and make it work with the players they had.

Last year, it worked very well as players like Caleb Okechuku, Marlow Wax, and Stefon Thompson all thrived in this version of the 3-3-5.

When White left for Nebraska this offseason, the Orange wanted to keep running the 3-3-5, but they needed to rely on an older and wiser coach they knew previously when they hired White before.

This is where 72-year-old Rocky Long comes in.

Long, who was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico, and prior to that, the head coach at San Diego State University, is known as the “Godfather” of the original 3-3-5 scheme.

He originally created this scheme as a way for teams with smaller but quicker d-lineman and linebackers as well as d-backs to just get after the quarterbacks and force teams into 3rd and long almost every time.

While the Orange will still be running the 3-3-5, they’ll probably be learning different terminologies under Long than from White, but will be playing it just as aggressively and as effectively.

 

3. JUCO Running Back – Deston Hawkins

For those who have been paying attention to Coach Babers’s recruiting strategy lately, he doesn’t just want to go after high school players and college transfers. He also wants to dip his fingers into the latest recruiting phenomenon known as the JUCO transfers.

JUCO transfers are sort of like College transfers where so many colleges want them now that there is a dwindling talent pool for high school recruiting,

Babers could have already named returning Sophomore Allen as the starter since he already has game experience and he returns kicks and punts.

By signing Hawkins, he gives Babers another college-ready runner with experience to compete for the starting running back role along with freshman Ike Daniels and sophomore Allen.

At 6’0″, 200 lbs., Hawkins comes into Syracuse as a second-year sophomore from Foothill College in Los Altos, California.

In one season with the Owls, he played in 10 games, rushing for 1,164 yards on 137 carries and 18 touchdowns. He also displayed his stellar catching abilities out of the backfield, reeling in six passes for 95 yards and one TD.

After the year, Hawkins was a First Team All-Pac 7 Conference selection and will have three years to become an All-ACC selection with the CUSE.

 

4. Freshman Running Back – Ike Daniels

When the freshman running back committed to Syracuse University, I thought for sure this was going to be the guy to replace Tucker.

The Stafford, Virginia native may have only been ranked three stars, but then Syracuse beat out some big-time programs to get him, like; Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech.

I also played Devil’s Advocate and remembered that Syracuse is a big-time program too at that position. Tucker went undrafted to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and signed a six-figure deal.

Now, the 5’10”, 185 lb., freshman running back is going to face some stiff competition from JUCO recruit Hawkins and returning sophomore Allen, but competition is good and brings out the best in everyone.

5. Returning Sophomore – LeQuint Allen

If Babers wants to start the running back with the most in-game experience and who makes the most impact on special teams, then Allen is certainly the best choice.

At 6’0″, 195 lbs., Allen is very similar to Tucker in that he has very good speed.  I think he has more game speed and is more of a multipurpose bell-cow, who can do way more than catch the ball off of screen passes.

In 2021, Allen won New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year and committed to Syracuse University in 2022.

In his freshman year, he backed up Tucker, but didn’t start a game until the 2022 Bad Boy Mowers Pin Stripe Bowl when Cuse lost 28-20 to the Minnesota Golden Gopher. Despite the loss, Allen rushed for 94 yards on a career-high 15 carries.

To check out Syracuse Orange’s 2023 Schedule, please check out:

2023 Syracuse Football Schedule

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