Eric Dungey, Syracuse strength staff working to prevent future injuries

Syracuse Orange quarterback Eric Dungey’s goal last offseason was to get bigger. He did, but now the SU strength and conditioning staff wants to help him stay bigger.

As strength coach Sean Edinger told Syracuse.com’s Nate Mink on Tuesday, "Dungey is not allowed to go under 220 (pounds) ever again."

At one point last offseason, the QB hit 216 pounds with a stated goal of 225 to help prevent injuries like he suffered in 2015. While he was bigger to start the year (still around that 215/216 mark), it’s possible that gradual weight loss plus the wear and tear of the season ultimately had the same result. Now, Edinger is aiming to get him to 230 pounds.

It seems the staff has at least conceded that Dungey’s going to run and take some hits — even if they’d prefer he didn’t.

While Dungey started the 2016 season running less and running smarter, offensive line injuries started to necessitate more individual play-making on his part. In weeks one through four, he had 45 carries (including sacks) for 67 yards. The next four weeks saw him run 76 times for 222 yards — with 103 of those coming in an outstanding effort against Virginia Tech.

Still, it wasn’t enough to stop the inevitable injury. He was knocked out of the Clemson game in the first quarter, and didn’t see the field again. Dungey is already back and healthy this offseason, however.

We’ll see if the extra weight makes more of a difference in 2017 than it did last year. Given the promise Dungey has shown as a passer in his two years, it would be ideal to have him upright and running this offense... without running the ball as much.