Syracuse football fall camp Day 1: Receivers adjust to new offense; transfer QB sees goal-line reps

Syracuse, N.Y. — There’s been a spotlight this preseason on how Syracuse football’s quarterbacks and running back Sean Tucker are adjusting to Robert Anae’s pass-heavy offensive scheme.

But there’s another equally important group having to learn the new playbook, too — the wide receivers.

“I think they’re still learning,” SU head coach Dino Babers said on Day 1 of fall camp. “They’re really giving good effort. They looked good today in practice. We had a lot of things go on. ... As a group, those guys are doing really, really well.”

Redshirt senior receiver Devaughn Cooper said the biggest transition has been learning the new terminology and signals employed by Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck. The staff opted to implement the new scheme in phases so it was easier for players to adjust to.

“The coaches came in and worked with us slowly. Eased everything in,” Cooper said. “I think the receivers are getting a hang of everything, and I think they’re getting adjusted pretty good.”

While 2022 will only be Cooper’s second year at Syracuse, he’s a seventh-year college football player. Cooper chose Arizona over Syracuse out of high school, making his way into the receiving rotation as a freshman before an injury forced him to redshirt.

He spent two more seasons with the Wildcats before transferring to University of Texas-El Paso, where he redshirted in 2019 and played all eight games in 2020. Cooper transferred to Syracuse just in time for 2021 fall camp.

Cooper is in his seventh year of college, an exceptional length of time made possible not only by his two redshirt years but also the added year of eligibility granted to players due to Covid-19. Cooper took a moment to contemplate whether he knew any peers who’ve been in the game as long as he has.

“I know some people that have been playing a long time, but I’m not sure,” he said. “I might be the only one.”

The experience, though, comes in handy, especially when implementing a new offense. Similar to starting quarterback Garrett Shrader, who has played under four offensive coordinators in as many years, Cooper has also worked under several different coaches in his career.

“I’ve been in the game. I know what it takes and how it is,” Cooper said. “I’m able to tell some of the younger kids what to expect or what’s finna come. That’s really it. Just experience since I’ve been there before.”

Syracuse returns its top three receivers this season — Courtney Jackson, Damien Alford and Cooper — but also has a number of younger receivers who should feature more prominently this season. Cooper said there isn’t one who has set himself apart from the rest of the group yet, but all are making progress.

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Florida transfer QB Carlos Del Rio-Wilson takes goal-line snaps

While Syracuse’s quarterback room rotated reps in most drills on Day 1, new transfer Carlos Del Rio-Wilson was the only one who participated in the goal-line drill besides Shrader.

He was forced to scramble on his first few plays but later found the end zone.

Babers said that letting Rio-Wilson take some snaps in the drill provided an opportunity to evaluate him more and allowed him to get some quality reps in with the team. The redshirt freshman transferred from Florida to Syracuse in May. Wednesday was his first official practice with the Orange.

Most of the quarterbacks competing to back up Shrader have only had limited time with the team. However, they’ve already made an impression on more tenured teammates like offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron.

“I think they’re just grown-ass players,” Bergeron said. “I’m comfortable with Shrader based off last season and all that, but young guys gonna step in and we’ll see what happens.”

Michigan transfer Dan Villari, redshirt freshman JaCobian Morgan and redshirt freshman Luke McPhail are the other QBs vying alongside Rio-Wilson to earn the second-string spot.

As for what Babers and the rest of the staff is looking for in a backup quarterback, the answer is simple.

“Well, somebody that’s gonna move the chains,” Babers said. “Somebody that’s gonna be consistent. Somebody that we can depend on.”

Injury Report

Outside of quarterback Justin Lamson, who Babers confirmed would be out for the season Tuesday, most of Syracuse’s roster was healthy for the start of fall camp.

Babers said wide receiver Isaiah Jones left practice with an injury but didn’t provide further details, saying he had not heard from medical staff.

Jones appeared in four games last year before redshirting but was expected to be one of the receivers to step up more in 2022.

Contact Emily Leiker anytime: Email | Twitter

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