Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse football team is less than two weeks away from hitting the road for its season opener at Ohio. All eyes are on how the program will rebound from last season.
The offseason is coming to a close, so here’s a recap of everything important that’s happened since the Orange walked off of Notre Dame’s field to complete its 1-10 campaign last year.
Orange in the NFL
Syracuse had a handful of players fulfill their NFL dreams during the offseason.
Former safety Andre Cisco was taken in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cisco totaled 11 tackles, five tackles for loss and one interception as a junior before tearing his ACL shortly before the Orange’s home opener in 2020.
The Detroit Lions picked up cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu in the third round as well. Melifonwu finished with 55 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, nine pass breakups and one interception as a junior last season.
Former Orange cornerback Trill Williams was picked up off the waiver wire by the Miami Dolphins after being released by the New Orleans Saints. He totaled 24 tackles, one tackle for loss, four pass breakups and one interception last season as a junior. The Saints also signed former SU punter Nolan Cooney.
The defensive load in the secondary will go to Garrett Williams, Ja’Had Carter and Rob Hanna due to the loss of Syracuse’s trio of star defensive backs. Neil Nunn is also a name to be on the lookout for.
Former Syracuse linebacker Lakiem Williams recently signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks. Williams recorded 110 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks during his senior season in 2019.
New schedule released
Syracuse returns to a 12-game schedule for the 2021 season after playing an 11-game slate last season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Five of the team’s first seven games will be played at the Carrier Dome (in front of fans!). Lastly, eight conference games will be played instead of 10.
2021 schedule
Sept. 4 at Ohio (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
Sept. 11 vs. Rutgers (2 p.m., ACC Network)
Sept. 18 vs. Albany (noon, ACC Network)
Sept. 24 (Friday night) vs. Liberty (8 p.m., ACC Network)
Oct. 2 at Florida State
Oct. 9 vs. Wake Forest
Oct. 15 (Friday night) vs. Clemson (7 p.m., ESPN)
Oct. 23 at Virginia Tech
Oct. 30 vs. Boston College
Nov. 6 Bye
Nov. 13 at Louisville
Nov. 20 at North Carolina State
Nov. 27 vs. Pittsburgh
Kickoff times and television assignments for conference games (sans Clemson) to be announced.
Changes to coaching staff
Syracuse lost two members of its coaching staff during the offseason. Former special teams/outside receivers coach Justin Lustig took a job at Vanderbilt for the same position shortly after the 2020 season ended. Mike Cavanaugh, who spent three seasons with the Orange as offensive line coach, left the program to join Arizona State.
Syracuse brought in Mike Schmidt as the team’s new offensive line coach. Schmidt coached the offensive line at San Diego State for more than a decade. Terrance Samuel was also hired to coach the wide receivers. He worked at UNLV after spending the previous nine seasons at Michigan State.
2021 coaching staff
Dino Babers: Head coach
Sterlin Gilbert: Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
Tony White: Defensive coordinator
Chris Achuff: Linebackers
Reno Ferri: Tight ends/Inside receivers
Mike Lynch: Running backs
Nick Monroe: Safeties/Nickelbacks
Vinson Reynolds: Defensive line
*Terrence Samuel: Wide receivers coach
*Mike Schmidt: Offensive line
Chip West: Cornerbacks
*denotes new hire
Recruiting class
Eleven players are verbally committed to Syracuse’s 2022 recruiting class, highlighted by three-star defensive lineman Q’yaeir Price. The group is rated 62nd nationally and 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference by 247Sports.com’s composite rankings. The main piece missing from this cycle is a quarterback.
DL Q’yaeir Price, 3 stars, Wayne, New Jersey
WR Donovan Brown, 3 stars, Gaithersburg, Maryland
LB Mekhi Mason, 3 stars, Opa Locka, Florida
CB Jeremiah Wilson, 3 stars, Kissimmee, Florida
DL Belizaire Bassette, 3 stars, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
RB LeQuint Allen, 3 stars, Millville, New Jersey
OT Joe Cruz, 3 stars, Ronkonkoma, New York
DL Malachi Davis, 3 stars, Holt, Michigan
DB Cornell Perry, 3 stars, Flat Rock, Michigan
CB Quan Peterson, 3 stars, Rock Hill, South Carolina
DB Dom Foster, 3 stars, Warren, Ohio
Departures/decommitments
Roster turnover is typical for any college football roster. Syracuse lost a handful of players to the NCAA’s transfer portal following the 2020 season.
Former running back Jawhar Jordan entered the transfer portal in January before he ultimately transferred to conference rival Louisville earlier this month.
Both former tight end Aaron Hackett and receiver/return specialist Nykeim Johnson chose to transfer to Kent State to reunite with head coach Sean Lewis, who served as the Orange’s offensive coordinator from 2016-17.
Freshman tight end Landon Morris is another name to enter the transfer portal after he reportedly said his experience on campus didn’t align with the role that Syracuse’s coaching staff outlined to him during his recruitment period.
Willie Tyler, an offensive lineman from Texas, announced his decision to transfer to Syracuse in April but decommitted from the program in June.
Former Class of 2021 commits Hayden Nelson and Jaelin Moss chose not to attend Syracuse. Nelson instead chose to attend UCLA, while Moss will play at Garden City Community College in Kansas, according to 247Sports.com.
Linebacker Lee Kpogba was suspended in February for undisclosed reasons. SU coach Dino Babers implied last month at the ACC Kickoff event in Charlotte that Kpogba wouldn’t be back, and he’s now enrolled at a junior college in Mississippi.
Former defensive end Drew Tuazama is no longer a member of the team. Ja’Tarie Washington, a former Division I recruit who enrolled at SU as a walk-on in the spring, is also no longer on the team.
Former wide receiver Russell Thompson-Bishop is also no longer on the program’s roster. Offensive lineman Patrick Davis was drafted in the Canadian Football League in the spring and decided to suit up for Montreal.
Transfer portal additions
Garrett Shrader, a dual-threat quarterback from Mississippi State, is another playcaller to add to Syracuse’s depth chart. Shrader appeared in 10 games with four starts during his freshman season in 2019. He became one of three FBS freshman quarterbacks to account for 1,000 yards passing and 500 yards rushing, totaling 14 touchdowns on the season (eight pass, six rush).
New Mexico State transfer Jason Simmons will add to the Orange’s collection of defensive backs in the secondary. Simmons didn’t play in the 2020 season, but he started eight games as a freshman in 2019 and finished the year tied for sixth on the team with 62 tackles (42 solo). He also totaled 4.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
The return of fans in the Carrier Dome
Syracuse announced last month that the Carrier Dome will return to full capacity for the fall sports season.
The decision brings fans back to the Carrier Dome for the first time since the 2019 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Orange’s home opener is Sept. 11 against Rutgers, but the general public will have an opportunity to see their favorite team and the Dome’s new stadium renovations up close during an open practice on Friday.
Contact Mike Curtis anytime: Email | Twitter
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