There weren’t any Syracuse Orange players present on the mid-season All-America lists I’ve looked at, including ESPN’s. However, when breaking things down by conference, it’s a little bit easier to get SU players on the board.
That was true of ESPN’s conference blog on Thursday, which listed out its All-ACC squad, including senior Syracuse wide receiver Steve Ishmael.
Ishmael’s numbers show the standout should at least be receiving some national consideration for his work this year. As Eric Dungey’s primary target in this offense, he leads the country in receptions (56) and yards (729), while also tacking on three touchdowns. Those first two numbers are already career-highs for Ish, and he still has a chance to double them before the year’s out.
While it’s awesome to see Ishmael (whom we’ve long believed in) honored, that was it for SU players on the team, though — something that does come off a little bit shocking. Parris Bennett is second in the conference in tackles with 56. Sterling Hofrichter has the league’s third-highest punting average, and regularly pins teams back inside the 20.
You could probably make cases for second-team inclusion for others, but the three names above are your first-team contenders. Going into the season, the ACC media poll picked zero Syracuse players to make the first team, snubbing Hofrichter then as well.
Obviously this doesn’t matter much, though it would be great to see some more Orange players recognized when the season wraps up. Any additional players you’d like to see hanging around All-ACC talk? Share your own picks below.