Syracuse Football Practice, Day 13: Better And Better

Day 13 of Syracuse Orange football practice was one in a string of really good practices for the Orange, who continue to improve and put it all together.

WR

The way Nolan puts it, expect Dorian Graham, Jarrod West and Jeremiah Kobena to get some serious looks at WR this year.

As for West, Coach Marrone wants to see a little more consistency out of the young wideout:

"I think Jarrod West has been a little bit up and down at times," Marrone said. "I think there are some good things. He has the ability to make plays. He can do some things well, but I think from a standpoint of consistency . . . he’s a young kid. He missed all of last year. He was very limited practice-wise in the spring, so he hasn’t been around us as much as if we were talking about a third-year player like Van Chew."

TE

Say hello to Syracuse's newest tight end...Max Beaulieu. The defensive tackle has little chance of seeing the playing field anytime soon on that side of the ball, so HCDM moved him to TE where you can always use another big body.

"I think that will help us," head coach Doug Marrone said. "It will give Max a chance to compete for a position and a role on this team. He was caught a little bit in between at defensive end and the defensive tackle position. We have some guys who are playing well at those positions. Max is a very good athlete. He’s extremely smart, extremely willing and we’ve had him out there and he’s done some nice things and is picking things up well."

Beaulieu will now wear No. 83 instead of No. 98.

If the O-line loses any more players, expect Thomas Trendowski to shift over from TE to OL.

OL

Doug Marrone remains concerned about the very-thin (not literally) center position. He's hoping Nick Lepak makes it back quick as he's likely to shift over as a back-up.

"My major concern goes back to the center position," Marrone said. "Rob Trudo is a player who is playing banged up (knee). Macky is taking extra snaps. So I have a concern there. We’re going to try to address that during the week, because the way it looks is Nick Lepak will be back before Ian Allport. I think it’s very difficult to get somebody ready to play, but we’re going to have to get somebody ready to snap. We’re going to have to do something."

DL

Deon Goggins is a "quick-twitch guy" according to DL Coach Jimmy Brumbaugh and they're working on getting Deon in check.

Sounds like Cory Boatman and Jason Bromley continue to be the top two DTs on the roster.

Special Teams

According to Nolan, the kick coverage team is currently: Olando Fisher, Durell Eskridge, Steve Rene, Lewellyn Coker, kicker Ross Krautman, Jeremiah Kobena, Siriki Diabate, Brandon Reddish, Dorian Graham and Jeremi Wilkes.

Shane Raupers, Jonathan Fisher and Riley Dixon all continue to battle for the punting gig and all continue to struggle. Harrumph.

Coaches

OL Coach Greg Adkins is going to take a step back once again to deal with health issues:

Adkins missed the first week of camp with complications due to gallstones. He was uncertain how long he will be out of the lineup this time.

"It’s undetermined right now," Adkins said. "It depends on what happens."

The Ernie Davis Club scrimmage (when did we start calling it that?) is this Saturday and Doug Marrone says everyone will play:

"We’re planning on playing everyone, so we can get a true evaluation of exactly where we are and start getting prepared for the upcoming season," he said.

Videos

Doug Marrone talks about the state of the team leading up to the Wake Forest game.