Ah, the spring Syracuse Orange football purge. You never quite know when it's going to come but you know, eventually, it will happen.
For now, the team has lost five players from last year's roster for reasons that obviously won't be disclosed by SU:
Jonny Miller and linebacker-turned-running back Mario Tull, are no longer with the team. Neither is walk-on kicker Shane Raupers, who shared punting duties with Jonathan Fisher last season.
Walk-on quarterback Corey Edsall, the son of Maryland football coach Randy Edsall, and tight end Nick Raven are also off the roster.
Miller's crossing (off) is no surprise. The highly-touted Colorado QB came to SU and immediately had issues with his throwing arm after a shoulder injury. However that paled in comparison to the his arrest last August on suspicion of robbing and punching another man. He was suspended from the team all of the last year and it's surprising he wasn't booted off then and there.
Tull is an interesting one. The converted linebacker played in 10 games as a freshman and moved to running back last year but saw no action. Considering both positions are pretty stacked at the moment, it sounds like Tull wasn't going to see any notable action.
For Raupers, this is his second time leaving the SU football team. In his first stint, he came in as a freshman heir apparent placekicker but quit a couple days into camp. He returned to the team as a walk-on last year to punt and saw diminishing returns as the season wore on. With competition heating up, it sounds like Raupers was the odd man out in the rotation.
Corey Edsall ends the Edsall Legacy at Syracuse. Perhaps now he'll go after his "dream walk-on spot" at Maryland and join his Dad.
Finally, we shall quoth Nick Raven nevermore as the quarterback-turned-tight end leaves behind what's possibly the most-stacked position on the roster.
Fare thee well, gentlemen. Good luck in your endeavors.