Syracuse Football Camp: Fort Drum, Here We Come

Lot of hot, barely-legal football action for the Syracuse Orange since Friday. Let's get caught up...

Coaches: So what does Doug Marrone have in store for the Orange this week at Fort Drum? When in Rome...

"We’re not going to be lifting and running," he said. "We’re going to replace that with competitiveness with the military … competing against them."

Specifics haven’t been revealed, but players will go through Army physical fitness training and take part in small unit leadership seminars, among other things.

QB: It's Ryan Nassib this and Charley Loeb that but what about Terrel Hunt? The sophomore is coming off a suspension that cost him the spring. Some say he's the heir apparent, so how's he doing? Pretty well, actually...

"A lot," Marrone said when asked how much the player fell behind during his absence. "A lot. I guess the question would be does he know enough to compete, and I can’t answer that right now. He made a poor decision in a short period of time, but he’s a bright kid. He might be ready to go."

Hunt looked good during FanFest and will spend this season trying to make the case for the starting job next year. He's got stiff competition.

RB: Adonis Ameen-Moore's weight is a hot topic for Syracuse fans (cause we're weirdos). Good news is that he enters the season 15 pounds down from last year. He was 244 and now he's 229.

WR: "Jarrod’s been doing a nice job." - High praise for Jarrod West from Doug Marrone

TE: Ron Thompson and Beckett Wales shone the brightest on Friday, making some nice catches.

OL: Zack Chibane wants to make it clear that while he appreciates the opportunity to workout at Fort Drum, he's not one for making sports/war comparisons...

"I think a lot of people try to draw parallels between the military and sports," he said. "We don’t like to compare the two, because having your life on the line and going out and taking about a game, something that was designed for fun, they’re two completely different things."

Even with all that veteran talent on the line, young players are going to be expected to step up and make an impact. With Justin Pugh and Kristofer Curtis out with injuries, folks like Jason Emerich, Kyle Knapp and Omari Palmer are seeing increased action...

Of the trio of rookies Emerich has established himself as the backup to starting center Macky MacPherson and will likely enter the season on the depth chart there. The others may be a year away, but Orange coaches are excited about their potential.

DL: Davon Walls sighting! The JUCO transfer finally made it to practice on Friday, working out with the team for the first time. He stayed out of full pads since he's just getting caught up.

LB: There's some curious shifting and moving going on in the linebacker corp. As noted by Marrone last week, Dave Rahme again makes it clear that the depth chart means nothing and this unit is a work in progress...

It was clear after one week of camp that the depth chart is not etched in stone. Morrison employed all kinds of combinations, at times moving Spruill back in the middle between Vaughan and Davis, reuniting last season’s starting trio. Morrison and defensive coordinator Scott Shafer have spent a lot of time making sure each linebacker knows his assignment on every play, and neither has been hesitant to yank one out of the lineup for mental lapses. [Dyshawn] Davis has been particularly susceptible to such action.

DB: Shamarko Thomas had himself a day on Friday, getting involved on tons of plays, making a crack hit on Steve Rene and intercepting the final pass of the scrimmage.

Special Teams: Riley Dixon was on the team, then he wasn't and now he is again. And good thing since he's booming punts.