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Justin Lustig Leaving Syracuse for Vanderbilt (Report)

Syracuse will need a new special teams coach with Lustig's departure.
Mike McAllister|
Justin Lustig Leaving Syracuse for Vanderbilt (Report)
Justin Lustig Leaving Syracuse for Vanderbilt (Report)

Syracuse special teams coordinator Justin Lustig is finalizing a deal to leave the Orange for the same position at Vanderbilt, according to a report from Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports. Lustig also served as outside receivers coach at Syracuse, but the report does not indicate he will have that title as well with Vandy. 

Vanderbilt is putting together a staff under new head coach Clark Lea, who was most recently the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. Prior to that, he spent three years at Syracuse under former Orange head coach Scott Shafer. 

Lustig has spent four seasons at Syracuse from 2017-2020. He was the special teams coordinator all four seasons, the running backs coach in 2017 and outside receivers coach from 2018-2020. During his time with the Orange, Syracuse has been among the best in the nation on special teams. 

Syracuse was fifth this past season according to ESPN's Special Teams Efficiency rankings. Syracuse was 23rd in 2019 and sixth in 2018. In 2016, the year before Lustig arrived, Syracuse finished 83rd in special teams efficiency. They moved up to 71st in 2017, Lustig's first season. 

Kicker Andre Szmyt won the Lou Groza Award following the 2018 season under Lustig's guidance. 

Syracuse will now be on the lookout for a new special teams coordinator next season. It is the only coaching change for Syracuse this offseason so far. The Orange have had some significant personnel changes, including the addition of transfer quarterback Garrett Shrader. 

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Mike McAllister
MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting.  EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans.  After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years.  Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports.  Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College. 

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