3 takeaways from Syracuse football’s Sept. 9 media session ahead of Colgate

Syracuse football is on a short week as it prepares to face Colgate on Friday at the JMA Wireless Dome.

For players like defensive back Chris Peal, it will be their first time playing on a Friday night during their college careers.

The Orange are coming off a comeback win over UConn, which marked their first home victory of the season, improving to 1-1.

After practice Tuesday, Syracuse linebacker Antoine Deslauriers, wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons and Peal spoke with the media.

Here are three takeaways from the media session.

Fixing slow starts

Ross-Simmons said SU got off to a slow start against UConn before making a comeback effort. He knows Syracuse is capable of more.

“The biggest thing with us, we got to start off fast because we were able to put up points, a lot of points in the fourth quarter,” Ross-Simmons said. “We could do that throughout the whole game.”

In practice, the Orange have been working to combat slow starts by starting with intense drills. Right after stretching, Ross-Simmons said they work on “fast ball stuff.”

Ross-Simmons said it’s practice tendencies will translate on offense. On defense, the Orange buckled down late to defeat the Huskies.

In the fourth quarter against UConn, Peal said SU’s defense had the mentality to not allow any more points. The Orange only allowed three points in the quarter, which came with one second on the clock.

Antoine Deslauriers talks Canada roots, fitness

Deslauriers is blossoming into a top freshman in the nation through two games at Syracuse. His career-high tally in tackles and pass breakups against UConn helped him earn the fourth-highest grade among true freshmen this week, per PFF.

The Canadian spoke about his fitness, allowing him to be in the position to make plays such as his two breakups in overtime to seal the win.

“It was always on me, like I was never forced to work out,” Deslauriers said. “It was just something I knew I had to do in order to make a name for myself a little bit and differentiate myself from other players.”

Deslauriers said he was surrounded by great coaches that guided him throughout his workouts. He said he would work out if he didn’t play football, but the sport motivates him to train.

Delsauriers and freshman defensive lineman Nathan Nyandoro are both from Montreal, Quebec. In recent years, Syracuse has had previous players hail from Canada too, such as current CFL wide receiver Damien Alford and NFL guard Matthew Bergeron.

“I’m just happy that as a Canadian, I have the opportunity to be here.” Deslauriers said.

Chris Peal talks journey, secondary unit

Peal joined the Orange out of the transfer portal after playing two seasons at Georgia. His relationship with SU head coach Fran Brown goes back to when Brown was at Rutgers.

Peal said Brown was recruiting him while he was in high school from both Rutgers and Georgia, and when he was in the portal earlier this year, there was a similar bond between them.

Now, through two games, Peal has made 13 tackles and broken up one pass. He’s getting consistent playing time, something he didn’t have during his time at Georgia.

“I'm finally glad I'm somewhere I can show my abilities,” Peal said. “I'm able to actually be out there doing what I know I could do best.”

Peal joined a secondary with veterans Duce Chestnut and Devin Grant. Peal said the duo offers a lot of experience and leadership.

“How they practice and how they lead the defense is something that I watch very closely,” Peal said.

As for some of the younger defensive backs such as Demetres Samuel Jr. and Kaylib Singleton, Peal has noticed their maturity and improvement over the course of camp and the season.

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