Syracuse football: players weigh in ahead of Wagner

Barring a monumental choke-job, the Syracuse Orange should be 5-0 after this week’s tune-up against the Wagner Seahawks. Before that, here’s the usual from the players:

Andre Szmyt

• Has been working on adjustments since the spring and feels that extra work is why he’s been successful this year.
• Tying the school record of 5 FGs in a game “means a lot,” but credit also needs to go to snapper, holder, and blocking.
• Said that Coach Bob Ligashesky’s NFL experience has been a huge help to the special teams room since he took over this season.
• “There’s people excelling at every position... like what I remember in 2018.”

Garrett Shrader

• Feels that the Orange found their offensive identity this past week.
• On SU having to play tough teams after the bye: “We’re one of those tough teams.”
• Still focused on “next man up” mentality as injuries on both sides of the ball continue to mount.
• Sacks were more on miscommunication with receivers than on O-Line. Some wrong routes involved.

Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images

Garrett Williams

• Team still has “so much to work towards” entering the roughest portion of the schedule.
• Hoping this week goes by smooth with no injuries.
• Players are preparing to have a much bigger target on their backs than they did to begin the year.
• Already has last game out of his mind, locked into the next challenge.

Mikel Jones

• Crowd playing into the “mob mentality” is a huge help. “You can tell on third downs. You can tell on big plays, on big stops, that they do shift the momentum of the game.”
• Long homestand has given team some extra motivation to perform in front of fans.
• Backups were all prepared to jump in and made the most of their opportunities.
• Even with another win, feels that the team didn’t get “as much better” as they’d hoped to.

Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images

Author Note: I’d like some feedback from everybody. Would y’all prefer if I kept doing player stories like this or switch it up and go with a weekly profile on just one or two guys? I feel like these stories usually don’t get as much engagement as my other stuff, but please let me know either way.