Syracuse Football Depth Chart Projection

Predicting who will make the two deep for the season opener against Louisville.

Author:
Josh Crawford
Publish date:
Aug 16, 2022 6:36 AM EDT

In This Story:

With the first game less than three weeks away, the depth chart and rotations have started to solidify. With the first scrimmage in the books and Malik Cunningham set to come in the Dome in 19 days, I wanted our audience to get a glimpse or rough estimation of what the depth chart would like if the season were to start today. This is PURELY a projection of my doing based on observations of practice and knowledge of the roster. It is not anything official from Coach Babers or the Syracuse staff.

OBSERVATIONS

Jeremiah Wilson (24) has arguably been the most impressive freshman in camp. His ability to play both press and off-ball coverage has been excellent, and his ability to make plays on the ball has flashed multiple times in the media availability periods for goal line and team periods. He’s also been physical and effective coming downhill, despite his 5’10 frame not suggesting him being the biggest hitter. Look for Tony White to find ways to get the true freshman on the field, either at corner or at nickel.
Derek McDonald (81) has impressed running with the 1s in the absence of Stefan Thompson during camp. He’s shown impressive pass rush acumen and the ability to cover and tackle in open space. Mikel Jones has spoken highly of him on multiple occasions and has taken the redshirt freshman from Georgia under his wing. With an outstanding LB core to learn core ahead of him, he’s somebody that could be an all-conference guy next year.
The receiver room still has a lot to sort out. Outside of Courtney Jackson, nobody’s spot is safe. FAU transfer D’Marcus Adams, redshirt sophomore Isaiah Jones, and redshirt freshman Umari Hatcher all have had stand-out moments during camp. Still, for the most part, I feel as seniority and continuity with Shrader will win out for WR snaps. Gadsden II and Alford are two interesting big-bodied X-factors at wideout to look out for.
Coach Babers’ Top 7 for this offensive line has mostly come together. Ellis, a true sophomore from the powerhouse St. Louis School in Hawaii, has been reliable in pass protection with surprising agility to be listed at 375 pounds on the official roster. With the way he bullies guy on inside zone, he should be one of the better guards in the ACC. Jakob Bradford and Wes Hoeh look to be the two swing linemen with 2s that could go at either tackle or guard, so that looks to be the top 7 with a lineup of Big Berg, Ellis, Carlos Vettorello, Christopher Bleich, and Dakota Davis as the starters from left to right.
Jatius Greer and Chase Simmons have shown nice explosiveness and power off the edge. The 2 ends, both hailing from South Carolina, have been a problem for tackles during camp. Simmons has shown the ability to rush from as a DE or as 3 or 4-tech, with nice hand technique, a nose for the football, and a constantly running hot motor. He’s also a nice mover at 250+ that could potentially drop and cover TEs in space.

PROJECTED DEPTH CHART

QB1 - Garett Shrader (6)
QB2 - Carlos Rio Del-Wilson (16)

RB1 - Sean Tucker (34)
RB2 - Juwaun Price (28)

WRX1 - Courtney Jackson (9)
WRX2 - Damien Alford (82)

WRY1 - Anthony Queeley (14)
WRY2 - Oronde Gadsden II (19)

Slot 1 - Devaughn Cooper (7)
Slot 2 - D’Marcus Adams (85)

TE1 - Chris “Rhino” Elmore (5)
TE2 - Maximilian Mang (81)

LT1 - Matthew Bergeron (60)
LT2 - Enrique Cruz (70)

LG1 - Kalan Ellis (76)
LG2 - Wes Hoah (73)

C1 - Carlos Vettorello (52)
C2 - Josh Ilaoa (55)

RG1 - Chris Bleich (63)
RG2 - Jakob Bradford (74)

RT1 - Dakota Davis (57)
RT2 - Anthony Red (51)