Syracuse Vs. Northwestern: The Broyldening Approaches

The Syracuse Orange take on the Northwestern Wildcats to kick off the 2012 college football season on Saturday. Let's put some final touches on the lead-in before we get there.

First of all, the Daily Orange has posted their season preview, so go consume that if you haven't already. It includes Michael Cohen's eye-opening article on injuries last season, amongst other interesting articles.

One such article is all about Ashton Broyld, Syracuse football's wunderkind QB/RB/WR, who will have a definite impact on the field this season. How is the freshman handling the pressure?

"I don’t feel pressure; there is no pressure," Broyld said. "My job is just to come in here and do what I can do for the team, and that’s all I’m going to try to do."

While we're on the topic of Broyld, how does he see his place in the backfield shaping up?

"I think we’re just going to have a triple-headed monster or four-headed monster, whatever," he said. "It’s going to be something like that because we have backs who can do it all. We’ve got different styles of guys. We’ve got certain situation guys. It’s really hard to choose one guy because we all do something a little bit better or different than the next guy."

If I don't see a photoshopping of the Four-Headed Monster by 3pm, I'm gonna be pissed.

There are actually five running backs in the mix if you include George Morris III, so it's going to be interesting to see who plays and when.

And what of Marcus Sales? He very easily could be sitting in a jail cell right now instead of preparing for his final season with Syracuse. With everything he's been through and being so close to having it all taken away, you'd think he'd be a practice warrior at this point. It took a while but Sales is finally starting to understand that:

Sales will continue the ride interrupted in 2011. Moore expects Sales to make plays and pick up where he left off at Yankee Stadium two years ago.

"I’m just glad to be back out here competing with my friends and my teammates," Sales said. "I mean, just being out here, just to be able to play football — it’s a blessing."

As for Sales' battery-mate, Sir Alec Lemon, expect the senior to be out there even as he still recovers from a leg lower body injury.

"I missed a couple of practices, but I feel confident and ready to go," Lemon said during player interviews tonight at Manley Field House. "I’m just excited to get back on the field Saturday."

SU is still being a little coy about Lemon's status, which makes me think he's closer to 75% than 100%, so, we'll see. Jeremiah Kobena, stay loose.

And then there's Jay Bromley. The big hoss spent a good portion of the fall with his leg in a boot However, all signs point to him being there as part of that Meat.

"The last few days I’ve been practicing full speed," Bromley said Wednesday night. "I feel way better today than I did yesterday. I’m just trying to get a little better each day and hope it pays off."