Cordell Hudson was quick to point out that the only touchdown given up by the Syracuse defense should have been a sack.

But with pass rushers having to pull up short of the quarterbacks, Austin Wilson was able to loft a 36-yard touchdown pass to Adly Enoicy on a seam route.

And count it or not — in a makeshift scrimmage that had no clock or score — SU’s annual spring game lent an encouraging look at a retooled defense. According to the stat sheet distributed by SU Athletics after the scrimmage, the defense held the offense to less than 2 yards per carry and 21 completions on 48 pass attempts.

First team forming

There was no depth chart prior to the spring game and Syracuse likely won’t publicly settle positional battles until the week leading into the season opener against Rhode Island.

But with cornerback Wayne Morgan sidelined with a lower-leg injury, safety Rodney Williams out with the flu, and defensive end Isaiah Johnson also absent, this 11 looked something like a first team.

Defensive line: DE Ron Thompson, DE Donnie Simmons, DT Kayton Samuels, DT John Raymon

Linebackers: OLB Marqez Hodge, MLB Zaire Franklin, OLB Parris Bennett

Secondary: CB Julian Whigham, CB Corey Winfield, FS Chauncey Scissum, SS Antwan Cordy

Underclassmen

Rising sophomores Samuels, Franklin, Bennett and Cordy (all listed above), mostly ran with returning starters, and redshirt freshman Cordell Hudson made a handful of impressive plays in coverage. Redshirt freshman linebacker Jonathan Thomas was also in the mix, spelling Bennett at strong side linebacker and finishing with six tackles.

Cordy — who is learning both the cornerback and safety spots — played alongside Scissum at strong safety, and laid a pair of big hits in the middle of the field. Cordy finished with four total tackles.

Bennett sniffed out an option pitch to running back George Morris II and wrapped him up in the backfield, and deflected a pass attempt to Jamal Custis over the middle a few plays later.
In all, it was a solid showing by Syracuse’s young defensive personnel.

“I thought Parris Bennett had a couple nice hits. Zaire Franklin looked like he had a lot of tackles. I have the worst seat in the house standing behind it,” SU head coach Scott Shafer said.

“… But for the most part, I think those kids have played good football this spring.”

Loose ends

While Thompson and Simmons haven’t been officially named the starting defensive end pair, they were quick off the edge against the first- and second-team offensive linemen.

Thompson and Simmons are both seniors and will look to fill holes left by Robert Welsh and Micah Robinson. Thompson’s usual position is defensive end but he shifted into the interior of the defensive line due to injuries last season.

The pair finished the spring game with a combined five sacks — which accounted for all of SU’s sacks — and six tackles for loss.

Published on April 4, 2015 at 4:31 pm

Contact Jesse: [email protected] | @dougherty_jesse