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Syracuse Football: Adonis Ameen-Moore Is Here To Help (And Hurt People)

Adonis Ameen-Moore just wants to help Syracuse win however he can. How will that translate into playing time?

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

In Greek mythology, Adonis is the god of beauty and desire. He was known for having multiples roles and purposes, though birth & rebirth play a central role in his myth.

Sounds about right for Adonis Ameen-Moore, no?

The 240-pound bruiser seems to have packed three or four different careers into his tenure with the Syracuse Orange football team. He arrived with Ironhead Heyward-type expectations only to languish on the bench. He was reinvented as the key cog in The Tank, a goal line package guaranteed to produce results. Then he was banished to the depths once again. Last season he was moved officially to fullback but couldn't move past Clay Cleveland on the depth chart.

Headed into 2014, there has been a lot of chatter about another resurgence for the big man. Gone is The Tank and now he's referred to as F-150. Either way, the image is clear. Once he gets going, good luck trying to stop him.

So where does AMM fit in the 2014 offense? An offense that's apparently being built for speed. What can a 241-pounder bring to that? Anything he's allowed to...

"Just help this team," Ameen-Moore said. "Same thing that was on my mind back then. Just help this team win an ACC and national championship and have a role into that."

Scott Shafer, however, seems to have a pretty clear idea of how he wants to use Ameen-Moore, and that involves a slimmer, craftier version of him.

"I think he brings a good dimension to [the offense]," Shafer said, "but I do want to get him down a little bit more."

Shafer says he wants AAM to drop 15-20 pounds. That sounds like a tall task, asking a guy who's been in this weight range for a long time to drop so much weight in a short amount of time. But, I suppose, if AAM really is all about helping the team, and that's the way he can do it, I guess he better hit the Pilates.