Syracuse football: Midseason honors for three Orange players

Several college football midseason awards lists have been coming out this week and you can probably guess one of the Syracuse Orange players honored. Sean Tucker was the AP’s first-team Midseason All-American selection as an all-purpose player on offense. Kenneth Walker III and Bijan Robinson were the AP’s choices at running back so it appears that Tucker’s season has impressed the voters enough to find a spot for him. The standout running back is second in the nation in rushing yards behind Walker.

Cody Roscoe was one of the AP’s first-team defensive end selections. Roscoe is tied for third in the nation with 7.5 sacks on the season and fifth in tackles for loss with 10.5. He’s emerged as force for the Orange defense in 2021 and the voters have noticed.

The Athletic had Tucker on their second-team at running back behind Walker and Robinson. Duce Chestnut was a first-team defensive back selection on the All-Freshman team as selected by The Athletic.

Chestnut was also selected by ESPN to man one of their defensive back spots on the true freshman All-America team. Chestnut has 22 tackles and two interceptions but ESPN’s Tom Luginbill notes that “What’s not necessarily showing up in the stat line is his ability to shut down the opposing team’s top target.”

The way Syracuse finishes the season will impact if these three will be able to hold their spots when the final selections are announced. All of them face some challenging competition but if the Orange can play into bowl eligibility while they maintain this production it will be tough to deny them their accolades.