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Most college football teams expected some roster turnover this offseason, but the Syracuse Orange appear to be leading the way thus far, at least according to how many guys have entered the transfer portal. On Wednesday, two more names were added to the list of departing players:
Source: CB Adrian Cole and TE Luke Benson are in the transfer portal.
— Nate Mink (@MinkNate) December 1, 2021
Syracuse.com’s Nate Mink reports that cornerback Adrian Cole and tight end Luke Benson have now entered the transfer portal. As a reminder, that doesn’t mean they’re 100% gone yet, but... well, it’s pretty likely to be the case.
Cole was on the field plenty in 2021, tallying 17 tackles and three pass break-ups, plus 0.5 TFLs. He would’ve been in line for even more playing time in 2022 if Garrett Williams winds up declaring for the NFL Draft (still TBD). Wherever he goes next, Cole will still have three years of eligibility remaining.
Benson’s departure is the less surprising of the two, of course, given how little the tight end position’s been used over the last two seasons. After he caught eight passes for 176 yard and three TDs as a freshman in 2019, he’s caught just 11 passes over the last two years as the team’s primary tight end. He’ll have two years left at the college level.
As mentioned, these are just the latest names to enter the portal for Syracuse as the roster starts taking shape for 2022. Defensive tackle Joe Rondi had already announced he was transferring after the season wrapped, while Geoff Cantin-Arku, Curtis Harper and Latarie Kinsler announced departures in the past few weeks.
Syracuse currently has 61 scholarship players on the roster, by my count, when accounting for transfers and the outgoing seniors. We’ll certainly be learning about more names to leave — via transfer or otherwise — over the next couple weeks.
Good luck to Benson and Cole wherever they land next.