What Deslauriers, Grant and Peal said ahead of Syracuse’s matchup against UNC

Friday’s game against North Carolina presents an opportunity for Syracuse to get back on track during its four-game losing streak. The latest loss came at Georgia Tech.

The Tar Heels come to town with an 0-3 ACC record and are also on a four-game slide.

The Orange, who are set to play their second Friday home game of the season, are keeping their heads up in preparation.

After practice Tuesday, Syracuse defensive backs Devin Grant and Chris Peal and linebacker Antoine Deslauriers spoke with the media.

Here are three takeaways from the media session.

Bill Belichick coming to town

The talk of the town this week is that eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick is coaching at the JMA Wireless Dome against Syracuse. A few SU players weighed in on the opportunity.

Deslauriers said the Orange are privileged to have this game lined up.

“It’s definitely something Fran mentioned,” Deslauriers said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to go play against such a big name.”

Grant said he has been watching Belichick coach some of the best players since he was younger.

“So it's a blessing and [I’m] grateful to play and we just know that they're a hard coached team, and they're going to come out aggressive,” Grant said.

For Peal, it means more. He was born in Rhode Island and his family grew up New England Patriots fans. Despite this, Peal said the Orange need to bring their own juice, no pun intended.

"It's just something different to think about, something different that's on our minds,” Peal said.

Younger players getting time

Syracuse has been pushing more of its underclassmen onto the field in recent weeks. And they are showing up on the stat sheet. Freshmen Demetres Samuel Jr. and Deslauriers lead the young group.

Peal has played alongside Samuel in the secondary through eight games this season. The two have become close by sharing a hotel room while traveling, Peal said.

On Tuesday, Peal reflected on what it was first like to hear he would be teammates with Samuel.

“It was kind of crazy hearing [that we would be teammates],” Peal said.

Peal said he saw a viral social media post about a 17-year-old playing both games in a spring game. That was Samuel.

As for fellow freshman defender Deslauriers, he has found a role in the middle of SU’s defense. He is tied with linebacker Gary Bryant III for the team-lead in total tackles through eight games, while ranking first in assists.

“I feel way more comfortable being on the field,” Deslauriers said.

Deslauriers touched on the state of SU’s current defense and how its progressing.

“We’re learning to play with each other, we’re building something strong and we’re continuing to get better as a whole,” Deslauriers said.

Coach, team messages during losing streak

SU head coach Fran Brown’s message during SU’s losing streak revolves around keeping the team’s spirits up, Peal said.

“He's telling us to remain with our heads in the game,” Peal said. “We can continue to build each week. It's nowhere close to over.”

Deslauriers said Brown is extremely close to his players and they held a meeting together.

“He wanted to make sure we're all good with the situation that's going on,” Deslauriers said. “He's just trying to keep us all motivated and get the best players out there on the field to execute their jobs.”

In terms of the gameplan, Grant said that this week the Orange are looking to hold the Tar Heels to fewer points than the 30 or more points they have allowed over their last four games.

“We showed glimpses of the defense we could be earlier in the year so going out here and putting it all together and just be as dominant as we can [is the mindset],” Grant said.

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