Syracuse's Running Back Room With LeQuint Allen
Syracuse football received some good news on Wednesday as LeQuint Allen dropped his lawsuit with Syracuse University as a settlement was reached that will allow him to play this season. That news, along with the addition of junior college running back JJ Branham earlier in the week, gives the Orange a deep and talented backfield. However, there is limited experience at the division one level.
Allen is the presumed starter given his productivity last season, especially in the Pinstripe Bowl where he flashed being a dynamic weapon on the ground and as a receiver. His return is big news and gives the Orange one of its expected best offensive weapons back. That said, he has only 41 carries of experience at this level.
Behind him, the most experience comes from Juwaun Price. He transferred in from New Mexico State last offseason but saw only eight carries behind Tucker and Allen. At his previous stop he had 692 yards with 10 touchdowns on 5.1 yards per carry though.
Junior college transfers and freshmen round out the group. Deston Hawkins comes from Foothill College where he ran for 1,164 yards and 18 touchdowns on 8.5 yards per attempt. Branham led Blinn College in rushing with 648 yards on 107 carries (6.1 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns last season. Branham is a former highly touted recruit who had been out of football for two years prior to joining Blinn. While he does not have on-field division one experience (he redshirted his lone year at Eastern Michigan), he is 22 years old and brings other veteran like qualities with him.
True freshmen Ike Daniels and Muwaffaq Parkman around out the scholarship backs. Parkman is blazing fast and could see a role right away in certain packages because of that speed. Daniels is more of a slasher, between the tackles type who has a lot of upside with a good combination of power, vision and speed. It would not be a surprise if either redshirted because of Syracuse's depth, but both have a shot to carve out a role during training camp.
This group is deep on paper, but still has question marks due to limited division one, power five experience. The addition of Allen quells some of those questions and should be a big boost for the offense in 2023.
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