Syracuse Football Practice Recap: Day 10

Position battles continue and it seems like the walk-on's are making their presence felt much more than expected.  Not sure if that's a good thing...

RB

Cornell transfer Adam Harris is making the most of his opportunity as an SU FB.

WR

Marcus Sales came to Syracuse as the No. 1 wide receiver in the State of New York.  Three years later he's battling for the fourth spot on the depth chart with a walk-on. 

Sophomore Alec Lemon, senior Aaron Weaver and junior Van Chew have pretty much locked up spots as regulars, but Marrone said a fourth position is up for grabs.

While the main contestants might be junior Marcus Sales and converted safety Dorian Graham, it was sophomore walk-on Cody Morgan who has impressed Marrone of late.

Dorian Graham just moved from DB to WR but he won't be moving back despite the injury issues.  Though it remains a possibility:

"If something happens where putting him at defensive back would best position us to win, we would make that switch."

TE

Freshman Beckett Wales seems to be making a name for himself in camp. Marrone thinks "We think he can earn himself some playing time."

In the meantime, your TE depth chart is Nick Provo, Jose Cruz and David Stevens.  Marrone had some high-praise for Stevens, who moved from LB.

"I like him a lot," Marrone said of Stevens. "You can ask any coach I’m a big fan of David. He runs extremely well and I think we’ll have a big role for him in this offense. It is so good that I don’t even look at it as a transition anymore."

OL

And so, the Sweet Lou Alexander Watch ends. 

It appears that the junior college transfer from the College of the Canyons won’t be enrolled at SU until January. Marrone said the 6-3, 310 pound offensive lineman was still working out academic issues back in California.

It's not goodbye, Lou.  It's "see you soon"

Zach Chibane seems to have the upper-hand now in the fight for left guard.  However, that has more to do with Adam Rosner's injury than anything else.

"When it’s equal, and someone starts to practice more and play more, it could create separation," Marrone said. "I’m not right now ready to go out and say Zack Chibane is our starting left guard, but obviously he has the edge, because he’s the one that is playing."

DL

Doug Marrone was impressed with D-Line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh from the moment he saw him play football:

"I remember him as a player," Marrone said. "He was a hard worker, from my standpoint an overachiever. I think there are a lot of things when you go back and start looking that say, hey, this guy has a chance to be one of the great defensive line coaches."

And the players can't praise him enough:

"He is a super-technician," Perkins said. "If you step or breathe the wrong way he will find out. He knows. But it’s going to help us."

LB

DB

As you know, Ri'Shard Anderson's season is over.  He was likely third on the depth chart so it's not a crushing loss, however its another shot to the depth of a fragile position.  Marrone has high hopes for the CB:

"Obviously, this will be a redshirt year for him. We’ll have him for three more years, and he’ll be a starting corner."

One player getting a lot out of the weak depth chart is Jeremi Wilkes.  As for #SHAMARKO, he won't be playing in Saturday's scrimmage but he will be back very soon.

"As that schedule goes, sometimes they can come back a little bit sooner, sometimes they can come back a little bit later. But right now, he is right on schedule when he is coming back."

Added Marrone: "He will be back sometime after this game. He will not play in this weekend’s scrimmage."

#SHAMARKO spent the early part of camp on the stationary bike.  The SU Twitterati had some fun with that.

Special Teams

The day belonged to Lichtenstein!, who drilled 2-3 kicks with a long of 35.  The Kraut was a mere 1-3.