Syracuse Football Camp: The End Of The Beginning Of The End

The 2012 Syracuse Orange football fall camp is officially done. We've learned a lot. We've laughed. We've cried. We've grown as human beings. But most importantly, we've survived the yearly onslaught of injuries to the upper bodies and lower bodies of Syracuse football players and made it out in decent shape. Gotta count for something.

First off, Mazel Tov to LB Don Anene and SS James Jarrett, both of whom were awarded scholarships for the upcoming season according to HCDM.

Coaches: Doug Marrone's chief concern all camp long has been conditioning and his team's readiness for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, he still remains suspect:

"Our football conditioning is a concern right now," he said. "And there’s still some competition, in some groups. I was wishing that it would separate itself better."

And...

"I don’t think a coach ever gets up here and says, ‘Hey, we’re exactly where we want to be or where we should be,’" Marrone said. "I think that for me, again, we got to work on our conditioning. We got to work on tackling. We got to work on finishing our blocks.

"We’re far – we’re a ways away from being a team that can go out there and compete the way we all would like to compete."

Harrumph. So what do we look like now that camp is done?

QB: Rahme says all signs point to Ryan Nassib throwing quicker and making better read than last season. Considering he broke a whole bunch of records last season, that's an encouraging sign.

RB: Marrone remains very unsure of who his starting running back, or backs, will be when the season begins:

"I wouldn’t right now say, ‘Hey, here’s the guy we’re going to give the ball 30s times to.’ That may change in the next couple of days, but right now I think you’ll see a couple of guys – and we’re discussing exactly who they are."

"Yes he is," the coach said when asked about McFarlane. "We moved him over, and he’s done a nice job."

Rahme noted that fullbacks Clay Cleveland and Myles Davis faded from significance in the plays as camp lurched on.

Ashton Broyld speaks!

WR: Injuries have plagued this unit all fall. Kyle Foster was lost to a season-ender. Sir Alec Lemon seems to be recovering just in time but Adrian Flemming's injury apparently derailed what was a fantastic camp for the up-and-comer. Rahme also notes that Keenan Hale has been dealing with an injury as well. Meanwhile, do you remember hearing many great things about Marcus Sales? Me either.

TE: At this critical position, it sounds like Lord Beckett Wales made the move to the top of the charts. He seems to have developed a nice rapport with Nassib, according to Rahme. David Stevens will also see action while Ron Thompson needs to overcome a nagging injury but could see time. Stevens is also working out an injury issue.

OL: Rahme calls Sean Hickey the "star of the camp," which is exactly what we need to hear about the guy who will fill in for Justin Pugh and likely replace Kristofer Curtis once Pugh comes back. Rahme does caution that depth is officially a concern on the line.

DL: It sounds like Jay Bromley will be ready to go for the Northwestern game. His rehab appears to be going great. It remains unclear where Deon Goggins is going to end up. He's played a lot of time on the end but that might be because Bromley has been out. Rahme thinks Syracuse might employ a six-man rotation on the line thanks to the work showed by folks like Eric Crume, John Raymon and Zian Jones.

LB: Marquis Spruill appears to be the new starting SAM linebacker over Dan Vaughn and Siriki Diabate continues to maintain his hold on the middle. Cam Lynch is giving Dyshawn Davis a run for his money on the Will spot.

DB: #SHAMARKO Thomas is back on the practice field but still not hitting. Sounds like he'll be ready to go, however. Rahme says that Brandon Reddish is a "lock" to start and the other spot is a battle between Ri’Shard Anderson and Keon Lyn.

The team has nine days to sort all of this stuff out. So, you know, we should do that...

Doug Marrone talks about Wednesday's practice session which included a scrimmage. Coach Marrone also talks about offensive tackle Kristopher Curtis. Video by Frank Ordonez / The Post-Standard