Syracuse football releases depth chart for matchup against Wake Forest

Another week of Syracuse Orange football, another depth chart. This week there was no shortage of happenings both on and off the field that impacted the chart. As always, here’s your recap of what we saw last week:

The elephant in the room is the removal of Taj Harris from the WR1 slot. If you somehow missed it, Harris announced yesterday that he was transferring from the Orange and as-such, will no longer be considered the top wideout on the team. Harris’s departure does pave the way for Courtney Jackson taking over the top spot at slot receiver with Trebor Pena as the back-up there.

The return of the Rhino to the tight end slot is a welcome change. Chris Elmore is slotting into his first depth chart of the year. His presence definitely helped out the blocking front and can only help more as he is back to full game speed and on form. Luke Benson and Maximillian Mang are listed behind Elmore at tight end.

Of note, Darius Tisdale is unlikely to be playing this week after being basically carried off during the fourth quarter with a lower body injury. This likely means the snaps at tackle will all go to Carlos Vettorello, who has been starting, but platooning with Tisdale so far on the year. Per Babers, it also means a possible increased role for freshman Kalan Ellis and a move up the charts. Keep an eye on Jakob Bradford to potentially share some snaps at tackle with Vettorello.

On defense McKinley Williams and Curtis Harper are now both-listed as starters at NT while Cody Roscoe and Kingsley Jonathan share that designation at DE. In the secondary, Ja’Had Carter and Eric Coley are both listed as starters at safety and Rob Hanna and Justin Barron share the top spot at Rover.

The final depth chart update is the addition of walk-on punter Ian Hawkins to the second-string. Hawkins handled punting duties at Florida State finishing with six punts and a 33.9 yards per kick average.