Football beat writers David Wilson, Stephen Bailey and Trevor Hass are counting down the days until Syracuse football opens its season against Penn State on Aug. 31. They’ll show you what you can expect from each position as the Orange moves toward its Atlantic Coast Conference debut, with the top position showcased in the DO’s annual season preview guide to be released on Aug. 29. The guide will also feature a more in depth look at the quarterback position.

No. 10: Kick returners/punt returners

No. 9: The secondary

No. 8: The defensive line

No. 7: Tight ends

No. 6: The quarterbacks

The departure of Ryan Nassib grabs the headlines. The quarterback, perhaps the best in school history, is an understandably difficult piece to replace.

Either Terrel Hunt or Drew Allen will take over, but what they’ll be greeted with is an arsenal almost as inexperienced as they are. Jarrod West takes over as the top target after being the No. 3 receiver a year ago, but behind him is a barren unit. There is talent, of course, but it’s raw and fails to compare to the gifted 1-2 punch of Alec Lemon and Marcus Sales.

Key returning players

West, who hauled in 43 catches for 588 yards, is far and away Syracuse’s most experienced returning wideout. In 2013, he’ll be counted on as the team’s top target.

Alongside him will be either Jeremiah Kobena or Adrian Flemming. Kobena was limited to eight games due to an upper body injury, but gives SU a potential burner on the outside.

Flemming, though, has been the one that’s impressed most during training camp. He played in five games last season, but didn’t catch a pass.

“He’s probably had the best camp of any receiver,” wide receivers coach Rob Moore said. “He’s really done a great job of really improving in a lot of areas. He’s looked very good for us.”

Christopher Clark, with 11 catches, was the only other true wide receiver to haul in a pass last season. Running back Ashton Broyld, who’s listed as an H-back, caught seven passes and has primarily worked as a slot receiver during practice this summer.

“Ashton is a wild card,” Moore said. “He’ll be in a lot of different places. He’s an extremely talented player, so we’re going to find a lot of different ways to get him the ball.”

Reasons for optimism

Where there is youth, there is potential and there’s youth aplenty in the Syracuse wide receiving corps. If West can become a solid No. 1 receiver, the Orange has a sizable pool to pluck from to play opposite him.

Flemming right now looks like that No. 2, with Kobena giving them another reliable option.

Alvin Cornelius, a redshirt freshman, is perhaps SU’s most purely talented wide receiver. Sean Avant, a freshman from Miramar, FL., is part of the talent boon that tripped up from Florida to Syracuse. Ben Lewis, another redshirt freshman, was a frequent target during Syracuse’s scrimmage in Fort Drum, N.Y., grabbing screen pass after screen pass.

The two most intriguing new faces, though, are the Orange’s two raw, gifted playmakers. Quinta Funderburk, who originally landed at Arkansas as a four-star recruit, has worked often with the second team and hasn’t done anything particularly noteworthy. Brisly Estime, the freshman who’s behind Broyld on the depth chart at H-back, has worked in that similar slot role that Broyld has, shuffling between the second and first teams.

“He’ll have a role,” Moore said. “How significant that role is I think is still being established.”

Somewhere down the road, this group of wide receivers could be great. To start, though, it could be bumpy.

Reasons for concern

Sales is the owner of maybe the best single-game performance by a wide receiver in Syracuse history – the 2010 Pinstripe Bowl. Lemon was the mark of consistency and turned in maybe the best drive of the 2013 season – his game-winner against Missouri.

Sales and Lemon are both competing for spots on NFL rosters now. That’s tough to replace. And trying to do that with a hodgepodge of young guns makes that even tougher.

Especially when the unit’s leader, West, is an unfinished product. He’s never had to be the main guy in the passing game and doesn’t possess any particular standout skill. Even Moore wasn’t necessarily enamored with his top threat, and has had him run with the second team at times during camp.

“He’s still got some work to do,” Moore said. “He had a great offseason, training-wise, and we’re still waiting to see that more consistently, practice-to-practice.”

The verdict

Like so many positions on the Syracuse roster in this transition year there is talent, but the inexperience seems to overshadow it. There’s only so much that can be expected of a unit when its potential No. 2 guy didn’t even catch a pass the previous season.

But let’s say Estime becomes an immediate star, or Funderburk or Broyld live up to their lofty potential. Then this unit can be devastating.

Those are all big ifs, though. One day the wideouts could carry the team, but with a first-year quarterback it could be a tough group to rely on.

Grade: B

Come back to DailyOrange.com on Saturday to see what position comes in at No. 4.

Published on August 23, 2013 at 11:58 am

Contact David: [email protected] | @DBWilson2