Day One of spring practice finally arrived on a brisk Friday evening in Syracuse.
Here are three observations from SU's return to the field.
WRs get back to work with new leader
The wide receiver room has a new leader.
After former WR coach Ross Douglas moved on to Oregon in the offseason, Syracuse tapped Myles White from the Green Bay Packers. Aside from his time in the NFL, he also has collegiate experience, most recently serving as the wide receivers coach for Miami (OH). He also had a six-year playing career in the NFL with the packers.
On Friday, White had his players running routes and working on their footwork.
The leader of the group is returning senior Trebor Peña, coming off a 941-yard season with nine touchdowns. Other returners include Umari Hatcher, Darrell Gil Jr., and Justus Ross-Simmons.
“He's (White) got experience," Peña said. "He knows what he is talking about, and he is a good a communicator.”
Haynes hangs it up
Speedster WR Yazeed Haynes will be retiring from playing football, said head coach Fran Brown.
The redshirt freshman played in just two games last season before being away from the team due to personal reasons. But Brown emphasized that Haynes will be staying at Syracuse to finish his degree.
Instead of dwelling on Haynes, Brown highlighted several other receivers making headway, including South Carolina transfer Tyshawn Russell and redshirt freshman Jaylan Hornsby.
"You guys have to start asking the right questions," Brown quipped. "You over here worrying out someone who's not playing. when you could've gotten more information on that (the other wide receivers)."
New QB in Orange
With Kyle McCord and his record setting 4,776 passing yards off to the NFL, Syracuse brought in highly touted Rickie Collins from the transfer portal. The former four-star recruit spent the last two seasons at LSU.
“I kinda knew where I was going when I entered the portal,” Collins said. “Watching those guys and watching what Kyle did the past year it gave me extra motivation to make this (Syracuse) the place.”
While he has not settled on his starting signal caller, Brown said he would make the decision soon.
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